The 100th Air Refueling Wing participated in a post-crash management exercise with the Royal Air Force and first responders here, Sept. 25-26 2018.
The scenario tested emergency responses of multiple agencies to a simulated military aircraft crash in the Northeast area of RAF Leeming’s area of responsibility and a fuel spill at RAF Waddington.
“The main effort of this exercise was to link up with our RAF counterparts and really understand their standard operating procedures, how they handle extreme emergency situations and how we can merge into that,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Alicia Goetschel, 100th ARW readiness exercise planner. “At the end of the day we have to sync with them if our operations are going to go well, to ensure the security and protection of our assets.”
The year’s worth of planning and two days of exercising strengthened working relations of U.S. Air Force, RAF personnel and local authorities by working towards a common goal. It also validated RAF Mildenhall’s mishap plans, and started discussion between legal primacy and emergency responses for off-base incidents between the two air forces.
Maintaining and improving relations with our U.K. partners was also a goal the 100th ARW accomplished during the course of the exercise.
“When we were out on site, it was like we were all wearing the same uniform and we worked together to accomplish the same goals,” Goetschel said.
This exercise was the biggest conducted in the area in the past 10 years.
“Because of the size of the exercise and the different people participating, we were able to bring in assets we normally don’t work with such as the coast guard, police support, coroners, ambulances from different areas,” said RAF Sqn. Ldr. Ben Coleman, exercise director. “The size, complexity and involvement across the board has been unique to this exercise and a large amount of effort has gone into it.”
The objective of the exercise was to identify each agency’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as determine how everyone can support each other.
“For us this was a great opportunity to test RAF Leeming’s capability to support crash exercises and the ideal chance to work with the local first responders and the U.S. Air Force,” Coleman said. “At the end of the day, the exercise will finish with everyone knowing how everyone operates, and be able to work together in a complex environment.”