Major accident response exercise tests McConnell's readiness

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Maurice A. Hodges
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  The 22nd Air Refueling Wing held a major accident response exercise Nov. 14, 2013.

The exercise included a simulated anthrax outbreak and tested the wing's ability to cope with such a threat.

"This exercise prepares McConnell to respond to a disease containment event," said Maj. Marcio Fletes, 22nd Medical Support Squadron diagnostics therapeutics flight commander. "The exercise is designed for if a real-life event were to occur, we are poised and prepared to act and mitigate that from happening."

The effectiveness of the teams treating "infected" Airmen was observed and recorded by evaluators to help critique their actions and build improvements in the future.

"If an urgent situation pops up, we'd be prepared to adapt to the situation," said Airman 1st Class Jordan Lawton, 22nd MDSS laboratory technician. "It benefits the Air Force overall by making sure we can handle a wide-scale emergency."

Exercises like this one are held throughout the year to help keep Team McConnell prepared and mission ready.

"The bottom line is readiness," said Fletes. "We identify areas of improvement as we train. It helps us prepare, practice and improve on things we didn't do so well on. We play how we practice."