ANG medical decon team preps for worst case scenario

by Airman 1st Class Cody Martin
188th Wing Public Affairs

8/8/2014 - FORT SMITH, Arkansas -- To prepare for future contamination threats, a dozen volunteers from the 188th Wing here learned to assist victims of this particular threat during a training event July 17 at Ebbing Air National Guard Base here.

Part of the Air National Guard's responsibility is to ensure it is always ready, whether it's a deployment or an emergency within the local community.

"I had a great experience with the team," said Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Carbonia, team member. "I can see the team will have a great impact on the 188th and the surrounding community."

Although the team, identified as a 976A Patient Decontamination team, completed the initial trainer course, they will require practice and dedication to hone their skills. This first team is qualified to train additional teams for work and rest replacement cycles which depends on the severity of temperatures. Important aspects of training include quick actions and dedication of team members.

"They picked up training quick and were actively engaging me during training," said Alex Ibarra, Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear training specialist.

If a chemical incident were to occur, there are two types of patient decontamination care, ambulatory and non-ambulatory services. Ambulatory is for patients that can walk on their own through a self-decontamination area prior to receiving medical evaluation. The non-ambulatory is for patients that are unable to walk on their own; these patients are moved through a team-assisted decontamination area.

"The way the team is set up we will be able to triage 100 people per hour," said Gray. "That's 60 ambulatory and 40 non-ambulatory patients."

Both types of patient decontamination care require movement through five stations for processing before they are able to receive medical care. The first station is the clothing removal and self-decontamination station.

Here, the victims clothing is removed and an M-291 charcoal skin decontamination kit is used to blot where contamination is suspected.

In Station 2, affected individuals are cleaned in shower facilities using soap. Station 3 is a final rinse off. Station 4 is the re-monitor and dry station. Here, the 976A team will ensure the victim didn't miss any contaminants on them; the patient will dry themselves or will be dried off by a team member if unable to do so on their own. Afterwards the patient will precede to the last station, where they will begin to receive medical care.

"This exercise provided team members with an understanding of the tasks they will need to accomplish the mission while providing much needed hands-on-training with the equipment they will use in the field," Ibarra said. "It's designed to give them a base to build on."

To gauge what they learned through the course, the Airmen were tested with the setup of a decontamination tent in 20 minutes or less. The team was able to show proficiency by putting up the tent in 17 minutes and 51 seconds.

"I feel with scheduled training and continuous exposure to the equipment, the team will be able to accomplish the tasks that they have been given to complete with flying colors," Ibarra said. "I expect nothing but the best out of this team."

There will be challenges to overcome. The 976A team will still need to train more teams to obtain the versatility to maintain a long operation, especially in adverse conditions.

Another challenge to overcome requires the team chief to work on a local policy so the team can operate with city personnel during a contamination incident.

"My plan is to try to do a complete package exercise where we can get involved with city personnel," said Tech. Sgt. Kelli Gray, 976A team chief for the 188th Wing. "We will get together with emergency management and fire department personnel to work together with a city response team."

Additionally, the team will also need to recruit more females to better facilitate female decontamination through-put.

Despite the challenges that stand before them, the 976A team has shown the determination to complete their mission and will continue to train to attain the proficiency required of them. With the help of future teams they train, the 976A team will provide an extra measure of safety and is a vital asset for members of the 188th Wing.