Emergency management keeps base safe

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Patrick Harrower
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Things go wrong. Earthquakes, fires, car accidents and even terrorist attacks can unfold at any minute of the day, anywhere around the globe.

Fortunately for Travis, there is a strike team of first responders to keep the base safe.

In the strike team, there are different elements responsible for responding to an incident. The 60th Civil Engineer Squadron readiness and emergency management flight is a critical part of that team.

"Our job is to get there and assess the potential of a (hazardous material) incident or (chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear) related threat," said Staff Sgt. Casey Young, 60th CES emergency management plans and operations specialist. "After the medical, fire and security teams mitigate the initial risk at the scene, we come in to identify or detect any suspicious liquids or powders."

Once the size and nature of the threat is identified, the team turns to the bioenvironmental flight at David Grant USAF Medical Center to assist in determining potential health risks to the population, Young said.

With such a large area of responsibility for the team, the training can be lengthy and involved.

"Emergency management is our full-time job," said Senior Airman Aaron Wentland, 60th CES emergency management plans and operations specialist. "We spend a lot of time training to do everything from running detection equipment to working with outside agencies on how to respond to incidents."

Emergency management frequently works with outside agencies in the local area, so joint training is crucial. The first responders in the local area can call on them at any time if there is a problem at one of the refineries or factories in close proximity to the base, Wentland said.

"The constant wind in this area can be a huge factor," he said. "It can carry potential dangers straight to the base from the Bay Area."

When not responding to the scene of an incident, the section also is responsible for managing and running the Emergency Operations Center on Travis.

"The EOC consists of 15 different support functions," Young said. "Each one is in charge of a different portion, but they are all responsible for the mitigation and recovery of an incident."

An Installation Emergency Management Plan provides specific guidance for the EOC to use in the event of major accidents, natural disasters, enemy attacks or use of weapons of mass destruction. These annexes are broken down into checklists to cover many possible scenarios and are then used to properly assess a situation in the EOC, Young said.

Travis 911! is a weekly recurring series in the Tailwind focusing on our first and emergency responders each week.