Exercise challenges abilities, tests resolve

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Wendy Lopedote
  • 916th Public Affairs Office
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  A loudspeaker bellows out "Alarm Red, Mopp 4!" These words are a call to action directed by the giant voice.

Members of the 916th Air Refueling Wing react swiftly.

Drop to ground, take gas mask out of its pouch, place on face, secure straps - these instructions swirl around in the minds of those involved in the wing's Operational Readiness Exercise (ORE) in Savannah, Ga, the first week of October. They have trained over and over again in these life-saving steps. It should be second nature by now.
But there's something about the ORE experience which can heighten the sense of urgency and realism for participants.

Nine seconds to don mask, heartbeat increases. Six seconds to go, breathing becomes shallower. Three seconds left, thoughts become jumbled. Two seconds, fingers don't work as well and struggle to tighten straps. In the final second, black rubber finally seals around the face. Made it!

Donning the rest of the chemical suit ensemble is completed within the two minute window. Using the buddy system, members help each other with securing assorted clips, snaps, straps, and other connective devices to ensure chemicals stay on the outside of the protective suit.

Personnel across the exercise "play" area hunker down and wait for what will come next. Beads of sweat trickle down various valleys of the body under layers of protective gear. Although daytime temperatures are pleasant, the protective gear and close quarters can create sauna-like conditions. One person said it was like wearing a snow suit in the summer time.

"Trying to focus on the mission when you're roasting inside the suit is a big challenge," said Col. Randall Ogden, 916th ARW commander. "It was especially hard when the sun was beating down on us in our bunker."

Col. Ogden served as commander of the "deployed" forces which made up the 102nd Air Expeditionary Wing during the exercise.

"Everything I was wearing was covered in sweat," said Senior Airman Michael Farley, a firefighter with the 916th Civil Engineer Flight. This was his first ORE.

"There's very little air moving inside all that gear. It just adds another level of stress," he said. Airman Farley pointed out that firefighters wear their chemical suit plus their fire retardant gear on top of that.

While in Mission Oriented Protective Posture Level 4, or MOPP 4, minutes can seem like hours. The perception of time can be skewed when physical and mental limits are challenged in a situation such as this.

"Wearing the chemical gear is definitely a physical challenge," said Col. Ogden. "I think the mental challenges are even tougher.

"I know my stress level doubles and my I.Q. drops in half when I have the chemical gear on."

Meanwhile, phones ring off the hook in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The scene is one of organized chaos and frenetic activity as orders are barked over the noise. Personnel scramble to carry out those orders, continuously updating maps and status boards to keep up with changing conditions.

"The EOC is the hub of all activity on the base," said Tech. Sgt. Diane Speas, 916th Mission Support Group. "There are a lot of things going on in that room all of the time."
A veteran of four OREs, Sergeant Speas explained that the EOC is important in making sure the right information is flowing back and forth from the Installation Control Center (ICC) down to the individual work centers. "The EOC has a lot of responsibility as the communications network to the rest of the base," she said.

Good communication is the key to getting people out of a MOPP 4 situation, according to Col. Ogden. "As soon as we can gather the information from the units we can determine where chemicals are present and make a decision to get people out of MOPP 4," he said.

While operating in MOPP 4 is difficult for everyone, firefighters and security forces personnel must contend with extra gear that only compounds an already demanding job.
"Trying to tactically maneuver through a wooded area was horrible with the suit and boots," said Tech. Sgt. Brian Nash of the 916th Security Forces Squadron. He was relieved that it didn't rain during the exercise as there is no tread on the chemical overboots which would have made for slippery conditions.

Firefighters are used to doing their jobs with extra gear on but the operations tempo of this exercise pushed the limits of the wing's first responders. "They threw incident after incident at us," said Airman Farley, referring to the exercise evaluators.

"After awhile everything seems so heavy on your legs, back and neck especially," he said. "It takes everything you've got just to climb past that last rung on the ladder."
Getting out of MOPP 4, or at least being able to take off the gas mask, becomes the predominant thought as time drags on. The new M50 mask received many favorable comments due to its comfort and better air flow, but nothing beats being able breathe "au natural" according to those who are "sucking rubber."

Finally, a decision is made in the ICC and passed on to the EOC. Phone calls go out to the work centers and the giant voice sings out, "Alarm Green, MOPP 2." Music to the ears of the players as their fingers move deftly now to release the straps holding the gas mask in place.

Whoosh! The rushing breeze cools the ring of sweat where rubber had once met skin.
"It's like biting into a York Peppermint Patty!" said Sergeant Nash. "I enjoyed that cool air hitting my face after hours in MOPP 4."

"Taking off the mask after an attack is a wonderful feeling," said Col. Ogden. "The mental aspect is huge when suddenly you can think much clearer without the strain of the mask."

Col. Ogden jokingly claimed to have almost reached triple digits on the I.Q. scale without the gas mask on.

All joking aside though, he said that the goal of this type of exercise was to evaluate the wing's ability to survive, operate and launch and recover aircraft in a chemical environment.

"At the end of the day, we met our objective," said Col. Ogden. "We proved to our numbered Air Force evaluators that we can do the job and do it well."

He said that the exercise was a good dress rehearsal for the wing's Operational Readiness Inspection coming up in January.

"We were very strong in our ability to fight the war and continue the mission in a chemical environment," Col. Ogden said. "We have a little fine tuning to do in some of our processes, but I'm confident we will do well at the ORI."

The exercise wasn't just preparation for an upcoming inspection, however. The experience gained by those participating in the ORE was invaluable.

"Our evaluators were more like mentors or coaches. They pointed out where we were proficient and areas where we could make improvements," said Airman Farley. "This was hands down the best training I've ever had."