DARTs provide vital feedback during exercise

by Airman 1st Class Zachary Kee
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

10/8/2013 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- "Exercise Exercise Exercise, Alarm Black, MOPP 4, Limited Release," sounds from the giant voice system during an Operational Readiness Exerise here.

With this announcement, members of Misawa's Damage Assessment Response Teams know it is time to go to work.

"As a DART member our primary job is to provide post-attack reconnaissance around base," said Airman 1st Class Sean Easton, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron DART member. "We look for damage to critical infrastructure along with unexploded ordnance and, if needed, we help with casualty treatment."

DART recons all critical infrastructure on base, which is any building that would directly stop or significantly slow the mission if damaged or destroyed.

A DART position is not something just any Airman can obtain. Members of the 35 CES participate in monthly Base Emergency Engineering Force training days to sharpen their primary duty skills. Senior enlisted leadership then selects members from four CE Air Force Specialty Codes -- HVAC, Water and Fuels, Electrical and Structures - to make up a DART, based off the professionalism the Airmen displayed during BEEF training. Misawa has two DARTs, and the Airmen on these teams continuously train to remain efficient.

Training is something Senior Airman Gabriel Gebhart, 35 CES DART member and water and fuels technician, says is critical to correctly assessing damaged infrastructure.

"I think it is important that there is a group of trained service members who are designated to ensure infrastructure around base is suitable for operating out of," said Gebhart. "The average person wouldn't be able to determine if the building is safe to work out of."

Easton echoed Gebhart and took it a step further and said without correctly assessing a situation, it would greatly impact mission readiness.

"By properly assessing a situation we can keep a building from coming down on a group of people," said Easton. "If we don't go out and do this we wouldn't know what buildings are operational. We need critical infrastructure to get our jets off the ground and keep the mission going."