Arctic Gold enhances emergency response

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Bryon McGarry
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Train like you fight" is a mantra commanders have no doubt relayed to their troops throughout military history, with the goal in mind of inspiring those in their charge to be prepared for any contingency. 

But a look into the planning and implementation behind Eielson training scenarios shows that there's much more to keeping Icemen sharp than running down a checklist.
The Iceman Team participated in Emergency Management Exercise Arctic Gold 06-06 Aug. 8, a scenario that tested the wing's collective planning, coordination and response prowess. 

Dreaming up the scenarios that keep Icemen on their toes is the mission of the 354th Fighter Wing Inspector General office. 

"EMEs are used to exercise and evaluate a unit's posture to respond quickly and effectively during a home-station emergency," said Capt. David Sulhoff, IG chief of exercises and inspections. "Most EMEs focus on the actions of initial responders (fire, medical and security forces) and the immediate follow-on actions by the wing." 

Captain Sulhoff added that the IG does not necessarily evaluate performance, but rather, it evaluates the wing's emergency response procedures and their adherence to them. In short, the exercises are objective based, not performance based. 

"We determine which objectives we want to accomplish during specific exercises held throughout the year," he said. "Once we've refined the list of principle objectives, we gather a core group of Exercise Evaluation Team members and brainstorm scenario ideas." 

Although the main-body EET group varies by exercise, the 354th Civil Engineer Readiness and Fire flights, the 354th Security Forces Squadron and the 354th Medical Group are typically the backbone, he added. 

The core planning group develops the scenario and approximate timeline, working closely with various base EET members to ensure accurate and beneficial development of the Master Scenario Events List, and ensuring necessary actors, props and moulage are refined prior to scenario execution. 

"The moulage is critical to the realism of the exercise," said Senior Master Sgt. Ricky Forkel, IG superintendent. "It entails making the scenario actors appear to be genuinely injured, which is critical to how the first responders react in an emergency." 

Although many hours go into the planning of these exercises, the focus is not on how the wing performs during them, but rather what lessons can be taken from them and applied to real-world incidents the wing may face. 

"We should not maintain readiness for exercises," said Maj. Todd Craigie, 354th FW inspector general. "We should only maintain readiness for real-world events - which is what exercises are all about." 

With the upcoming Unit Compliance Inspection on the horizon, Captain Sulhoff said he's confident that the wing will rise to the occasion. 

"We certainly have room to improve, but from my perspective, I have seen the 354th Fighter Wing grow leaps and bounds," he said. "I am confident that the hard work and great attitudes of the Iceman Team will be evident during the UCI." 

In accordance with the wing commander's intent, IG's vision is to establish a legacy, he added. 

"More important than being prepared for an inspection team, the wing has been establishing a more refined, streamlined manner of operating while providing honest feedback on what parts of the mission are failing and why," Captain Sulhoff said. "If that way of operating continues beyond Sep. 15, then any rating we earn during the UCI will pale in comparison to the accomplishment of establishing a legacy of operational and support excellence in one of the most austere and remote locations in the Air Force during a time of severe budget cuts and personnel shortages." 

The IG office offers five tips for success in preparation for the upcoming UCI: 

1. Communicate clearly and effectively every time, without fail - this includes being an attentive and active listener. 

2. Follow your checklists - every time. They were written for a reason, and the reason was not for us to ignore them and make up a response as a scenario or real-world event unfolds. 

3. Trust your subject matter experts - no one knows better the appropriate measures to take in each of the varied events that happen during an incident than the professionals who were trained specifically to deal with that situation. 

4. Inhale, Have Fun, Exhale, Focus, Inhale - exercises are simply that, an exercise. The wing and its personnel and assets will be stretched and worked out with the ultimate goal of becoming stronger, so take everything with a grain of salt. Don't let the simulations or "exercise-isms" get you down. A positive, focused attitude will always take us further than any level of intelligence. 

5. Blank - choose your own #5 from your own experience. What is a great lesson you learned as a leader or observed as a subordinate that had a profound effect on you and your "modus operandi?" Remember, if we do not learn from our mistakes, we are doomed to repeat them.