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(photo by Eleena Fikhman)
Fort Myer Soldiers fill out paperwork at the processing station, manned by Capt. Chris Brautigam, USAG HHC, during the biochemical outbreak exercise. |
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The Fort Myer Military Community trained to face down a crisis Nov. 7 and 8, preparing for an incident in which an aerosolized biochemical agent is released into the air over Arlington and Alexandria. While the attack was hypothetical, the response by FMMC directorates was very real.
Training for possible attacks and rehearsing response protocol is ofthe utmost importance, FMMC Garrison CommanderCol. Laura J. Richardson said.
‘‘It’s important to do training to identify deficiencies and disconnects in our processes and systems in the garrison,” she said. ‘‘Training makes perfect.”
Upon notification of the simulated attack, first response workers from Arlington County brought medication (Skittles and M&Ms) onto the post, where they were stored until the dispensation area was set up in the FMMC Community Center.
‘‘We’re taking our cooperation with first responders from Arlington and Alexandria and expanding it to include our community,” FMMC Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives Emergency Management Specialist Malanya Wesley said. ‘‘[The leadership and first responders] know what to do, now we’re helping the members of the community by showing them what they have to do.”
Wesley reiterated the importance of preparation.
‘‘The only way to be ready is to prepare and be aware,” she said.
Once the dispensation area was manned and ready, Soldiers from Rader Clinic handed out medication to post residents and employees. Because of potential allergic reactions to Doxycycline, the primary antibiotic used to treat anthrax and other bioweapons, clinic employees had to screen recipients, a process that could easily get confused during a real attack.
‘‘If you don’t practice these responses, they’ll be haphazard at best. You’ll be scrambling to get medicine out,” Lt. Col. Damon Baine, commander of Rader Clinic, said. ‘‘You can potentially make it worse for some people, if they get the wrong medication.”
But the exercise isn’t only for the dispensers, Baine said. Much of the need for this kind of training is to help community members handle a crisis, should one arise.
‘‘It gives them a sense of comfort and confidence that they’re going to be taken care of, and they’ll be safe,” he said.
Overall, the exercise ran smoothly, Richardson said.
Proper planning and preparation leading to the event is key in running post-wide operations like a medical dispensation without problems, she said.
‘‘If you do your homework and plan correctly, the execution goes much smoother [in both training and real-life events],” Richardson said. ‘‘It’s going well because of the hard work and planning that went into this.”
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