Travis prepares for UCI

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Team Travis will respond to an inspection trifecta next Monday when more than 135 inspectors from Air Mobility Command arrive and begin evaluating units Tuesday. 

Inspectors will conduct a Unit Compliance Inspection, Safety Program Evaluation and Logistics Standardization Evaluation Program.

Maj. Tim Voss, 60th Air Mobility Wing/Unit Compliance Inspection Office said "The UCI is a straightforward paperwork inspection that will assess our wing's adherence with By-Law requirements, Executive Orders, DOD Directives, Air Force and MAJCOM instructions. Areas of inspection include all major functional areas of the base, such as security forces, civil engineering, maintenance and services."

The LSEP, occurring simultaneously, covers maintenance personnel and several of the functions within the support group. 

A key aspect to the inspection is the Emergency Management Exercise March 5. This evaluates the wing's ability to execute the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan 10-2 in response to a terrorist's use of weapons of mass destruction. 

On Feb. 21, in preparation for the EMX, Travis held its second Home Station Attack Response Exercise of the year. 

The events staged included a terrorist-related attack at multiple locations in addition to a chemical tanker truck spill. 

Dan Johnson, 60th Air Mobility Wing Exercise Evaluation Team Chief, said the purpose of the Feb. 21 exercise was to overwhelm Travis emergency responders. 

["We tried to] give them so many different scenarios that would be happening at the same time that they would have to make some decisions to prioritize where their responses were going to with the resources they have available." 

Mr. Johnson said inspectors will watch during Wednesday's EMX to see how base personnel react to emergency situations. 

"It is important that people ... listen to what's announced, follow the instructions, take some form of action, and show a strong sense of urgency," Johnson said. "Everyone needs to understand this evaluation is important as it shows senior command leadership how well Travis could respond if needed in an emergency."

All Travis personnel are expected to participate to the fullest extent possible and know what to do in case of a shelter-in-place activation. Due to the scope of this exercise, personnel can expect building evacuations, traffic revisions, force protection condition changes and other actions that will affect customer service sections and general customer service response. Those with appointments and other nonessential engagements are urged to consider rescheduling to avoid the probable inconvenience the exercise will cause. Air Force civilian employees are expected to comply with all exercise requirements.

Major Voss stressed the importance of knowing shelter-in-place procedures.
"If in a building, working on the flightline or at the commissary, personnel need to know where their shelter-in-place area is," Major Voss said. "That information is in the CEMP 10-2, attachment 3, which each unit's emergency management representative has access."
As to the paperwork side of the UCI, Major Voss said Travis has been preparing for five months.

"Units with non-compliant checklist items need to be prepared to show the inspectors the reason for non-compliance, the plan to become compliant and the estimated completion date," he said. 

The Feb. 21 HARE was one of two required annually. The exercises prepare the installation for different types of possible attacks on the base. The wing is then evaluated by the AMC Inspector General on how well it responds to terrorist attacks using Air Force Incident Management Systems guidelines. 

Mr. Johnson admitted while some may be frustrated with inconveniences related to Wednesday's exercise, there is a larger picture to remember. 

"We are practicing to save their lives in case of a real emergency," he said. "We get better at doing that by exercising the way we would do it in the real world. ... You only get one chance when it's real." 

UCIs are held every 40 months. Travis' last UCI was held in 2004.

If you have questions regarding preparation for the Emergency Management Exercise, call the Installation Office of Emergency Management at 424-2104 or 424-4848. For more information regarding Unit Compliance issues, contact the UCI office at 424-8111 or 424-7404. 

Capt. Lindsay Logsdon contributed to this report.