By Clark Pierce, Naval Air Station Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville's emergency personnel tested their skills Sept. 23 during an air show disaster drill to prepare for the upcoming base air show in October 2010 in Jacksonville, Fla.
"Our purpose today is to assess the readiness of different base departments to communicate with each other in order to deliver an effective, integrated emergency response," said NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer Capt. Jeffrey Maclay.
During the exercise, a civilian aerobatic plane spun out of control and crashed into a spectator area near Hangar 116 – exploding in a ball of fire. One of the grandstands collapsed as shrapnel and flames rain down on the air show audience, turning an aviation celebration into a disaster zone.
When the training exercise began, an air traffic controller in the NAS Jacksonville control tower immediately grabbed the crash phone to notify the fire department and emergency medical services.
In addition to the Jacksonville Navy Metro Fire and Emergency Services, the integrated training team included personnel from security and force protection; Naval Health Clinic Jacksonville; Naval Hospital Jacksonville Emergency Operations Center; environmental; safety; airfield services; air terminal services; Commander, Navy Region Regional Operations Center; and Life Flight from Baptist Medical Center.
The approximately 90-minute drill is required for any NAS that hosts an air show. In 2008, NAS Jacksonville was the first NAS in the United States
"Overall, things went smoothly. It's good to see how well the ELMR (enterprise land mobile radio) network preformed. These interoperable, hand-held radios ensure that our security, fire and emergency medical personnel are communicating on the same wavelength. It appears that everything should be in order for the NAS Jacksonville Air Show in October (2010)," said Maclay, at the exercise debrief.
"I think the drill went well. Communications improved in some areas and there were a couple events that occurred due to our patrolmen's vigilance that changed the scope of the exercise, but did not affect our training," said NAS Jacksonville Installation Training Officer Jim Butters.
"Medical personnel received some great training in this drill. We were able to execute our 911 system and Life Flight communications. Operations were greatly improved since our chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear exercise held here last February," said Butters. "The planning and execution of the exercise provided us with some very valuable training. I believe we are well prepared for any emergency that may arise during our upcoming air show."
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