'I need help' ... Misawa Airmen train for war-injured

by Senior Airman Derek VanHorn
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

10/7/2013 - MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- Missiles litter the flightline as deafening sirens sound on repeat, warning Airmen to take cover. Amid the chaos, two Airmen stuck outside during the attack lay injured - one with a shattered leg, the other with an open chest wound.

The leader of a Self-Aid Buddy Care and Post-Attack Reconnaissance team, Capt. Juan Godinez, snaps on his gas mask and heads outside to assess the damage.

The first thought that crosses Godinez's mind upon finding the injured is "I need help."

"There's no way I can do all this by myself," Godinez said. "I call the teams we have in place beforehand and we rush to help." The PAR and SABC teams Godinez leads are made up of around 15 Airmen, and they perform the sweeps in full Mission Oriented Protective Posture gear.

The scenario is part of an Operational Readiness Exercise here through the week of Oct. 7-11. The ORE assesses the 35th Fighter Wing's ability to operate in a high-tempo, wartime environment.

2nd Lt. Jacqueline Mozingo of the 35th Contracting Squadron knew only hours beforehand she would be playing such a key role in another Airman's survival.

"I was a short-notice member for our post-attacks sweeps, so my training came through when I saw the body laying there," Mozingo said. "I immediately recognized the open chest wound and knew exactly what steps to take to keep him alive."

And on the other end of the process are a couple of teams who make sure the scenarios the first responders have to deal with are as realistic as possible.

The Airmen who lay injured for simulated treatment included Staff Sgt. Earvin Bundang, 35th Medical Operations Squadron, and Senior Airman Paul Takita, 35th Comptroller Squadron. They were two of dozens of Airmen throughout the week who underwent the magic of moulage artist Tech. Sgt. Anabel Parks, 35th Dental Squadron, to make the injuries appear as real as possible.

"We use fake blood, makeup, props - anything to make the injury look worse than it might feel," Parks said. "You have to make this as real as possible so first-responders can be ready for any scenario that comes their way."

Along with just the makeup, acting out the scenario in its truest form is equally, if not more important. Each role player is provided a card with symptoms and instructions on how to act out certain scenarios to allow SABC personnel identify and respond most effectively.

"My job here is to give a gruesome and realistic version of the injury so Airmen get good practice treating patients," Takita said. "Making sure we do things correctly in an exercise helps when the time comes to put it in live combat."

Godinez stressed the importance of enforcing realism during base exercises.

"Much of the realism is dependent upon the attitude of Airmen," he said. "It's important to relay the seriousness and reality that we could be out there dealing with these scenarios someday. These are as real as it gets."