Members of Vandenberg Air Force Base’s 30th Space Wing medical group are in the final stages of completing their annual Medical Emergency Response Capability Assessment and Training (MERCAT) exercise. The four-day exercise, which ends on Jan. 29, tests the ability of airmen to respond to a chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear attack on the base.
Airmen in the group undergo three testing phases, including classroom and hands-on testing and training, followed by the actual exercise.
During the scenario, the medical airmen will have to care for 100 patients simulating the effects of a mock attack. Participants will be expected to help patients both in the field and at the on-base clinic.
“It will be very realistic and very overwhelming for the medical professionals involved,” Russ Sandy, the base’s medical emergency response manager, said in a release to the media. “We don’t get the opportunity to test to this capacity very often at the base level. For 100 casualties to be treated by the med group is asking a lot, but they will ultimately learn they do have the ability to perform that function if needed.”
The exercise should also reveal weaknesses in the group’s procedural system.
“Gaps in training and vulnerability will be identified during the didactic training,” Sandy said in the release. “They will learn how to close those gaps and improve their procedures in response to these events.”
This article appears in Jan 29 – Feb 5, 2009.