August 2013 (pdf) - 104th Fighter Wing, Massachusetts Air National ...

AUGUST 2013
AIRSCOOP
PAGE 4
CBRN Enhanced Response Force Package (CERF-P)
By Maj. David Mendoza, 104th Wing Executive Staff Officer
Amid the panic and uncertainty that
surrounds a natural disaster like a
tornado, earthquake, or even a manmade
disaster, the National Guard is
prepared to bring calm and
organization to the recovery effort.
Put to the test June 7-10, 2013, the
Massachusetts CBRN (Chemical,
Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear
defense) Enhanced Response Force
Package (CERF-P) assembled at Camp
Hartell in Conn. to execute their
mission of providing immediate
response capability to the Governor,
searching an incident site, rescuing any
casualties, decontaminating them, and
performing medical triage and initial
treatment for transportation.
Composed of Army and Air National
Guard assets, this team is designed to
respond to any state-side disaster in
Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) region one within 72
hours—often being one of the first
responding teams to an incident. What
Photo by Maj. David Mendoza
makes this team very unique is its
ability to not only act a first responder,
but also brings with it the capability to
operate in a CBRN environment.
“This team is prepared to respond in
all conditions,” said Capt Mary Newton,
EMEDS-CM Medical Plans and
Operations Officer. “In this region, we
are ready to respond during the winter
cold or the summer’s humidity.”
“Each day of the exercise is designed
around a different scenario to add
realism to the training,” said Newton.
“One day they could be responding to a
hurricane in New Hampshire the next
day could be an earthquake in
Connecticut.”
The entire Homeland Response
Force includes a number of different
capabilities. One team specializes in
providing command and control, one
team provides the search and extraction
capabilities. The Mass. Air National
Guard provides the medical treatment,
joint incident site communications
capabilities and fatality search and
recovery, while the Army National
Photo by Maj. David Mendoza
Guard provides the decontamination
element.
The CERF-P works within the
command and control format of the
civilian agencies, to allow for quick
integration. The National Incident
Management System (NIMS) is the
national standard that allows for interagency
cooperation. “We work very
hard to step outside of our military
communication styles,” said Newton.
“We need to learn and use new
acronyms to ensure we are all
communicating effectively with the
other supporting agencies.”
In addition to the NIMS
organization being implemented, many
of the process allow for information to
be expedited to other agencies, to
include the use of electronic tracking
accounting system (E-TAS). Each
survivor is identified with a bar-code,
and the accountability information can
quickly be shared with the American
Red Cross so that families can be reconnected
after being displaced.
During this exercise the team is
assessed by Joint Information
Environment (JIE-Tech) evaluators—
providing real-time feedback on their
effectiveness. The exercise intensity
builds through the three days, with a
crescendo on the third day; where the
evaluation team adds multiple
scenarios that re-enforce the required
flexible response capability of the team.
The entire team works together is
often unglamorous ways. Sweat-covered
and exhausted, the teams rotate in and
out of the ‘hot-zone’ working to
transport, treat and asses the casualties
while a specialized team transports
those who died during the incident.
“Our job is not pleasant, “said
Technical Sgt. Richard Hutchinson, who
goes by “Hutch” to his teammates.
Hutch is a key member of the104th
Fighter Wing’s Fatality Search and
Recovery Team. (FSRT) “But it is noless
important. We work tirelessly to
account for the fallen and treat the
remains in the most dignified way.”
“The team gets a level of satisfaction
knowing that it is supporting the
community, state and even federal
government during a time where they
Photo by Maj. David Mendoza
are needed most.” added Hutchinson.
When the exercise comes to a
termination, the members are certainly
prepared to face any disaster. Last year,
following their annual training exercise,
the team was called into action during
hurricane Irene; and the training paid
off. “There was no greater feeling than
knowing we were prepared,” said Maj
David Archambault, a 104 th Fighter
Wing medic and part of the Command
and Control element. “These events get
each one of the sections prepared for a
real-world event…the hands on
application practice is critical when
you’re in the field and you don’t have a
second chance to get it right.”