VOL. 53 NO. 35 SEPTEMBER 4, 2014
SERVING NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, DAM NECK ANNEX, AND NALF FENTRESS NAS Oceana conducts a mass casualty exercise in preparation for the Oceana Air Show scheduled for Sept. 20 - 21. This training exercise allows the Navy, city and state agencies to react to a simulated mishap on the flight line during the air show.
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CPO SELECTS PREPARING FOR PINNING CEREMONY —Page 6
Photo by MCSN Kayla King
Oceana conducts pre-air show exercise BY MC3 TIMOTHY DAUGHTON NAS Oceana Public Affairs Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana conducted a mass casualty exercise Aug. 26 in preparation for the 2014 air show,taking place Sept.20 - 21. The scenario for the exercise simulated a helicopter catching fire during a refueling, creating an inadvertent spark that caused an F/A-18 Hornet next to it to also catch fire. When the F/A-18 exploded, it created debris in the field nearby with hazardous materials. The exercise tested the readiness of all components of emergency response, including Navy Region Mid-Atlantic and the City of Virginia Beach police and fire departments. “These training exercises are very important because if something were to occur, the more we train with Virginia Beach and with ourselves, the better we will be able to respond to and mitigate any future events that may occur,” said John Heistand, NAS Oceana training officer.“You take any real world example, the better the training is, the better the response
is and the better the response will mean less injuries and loss of life.” Heistand coordinates all large scale exercises conducted at NAS Oceana, Dam Neck and Fentress, and works with the cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake to determine what they want to accomplish from the exercise. They then write a scenario to accomplish the goals and coordinate it with everyone involved in the exercise. After the exercise, Heistand said he will get together with all of the observers and put together a “lessons learned” report with all the information gathered from the event to improve on future scenarios. “In this type of situation, the City of Virginia Beach would be providing a supporting role, anything that they [the military] would need to assist with this,” said Erin Sutton, deputy emergency management coordinator of the City of Virginia Beach. “Their resources, as many as they have, would still be taxed in an incident like this, involving hundreds of thousands of people, and would need help with our ambulances and personnel, so we are here
supporting their operations.” Sutton also said it is very important to conduct training like this annually so they are upto-date on the tools and procedures needed in an emergency. More than 100 Sailors, Marines, and civilians volunteered to take part in the exercise. Each volunteer wore a tag on their wrist with an injury and a brief description of the severity of it. Emergency responders treated each injury as if they were real. “This is a fantastic opportunity to partner with the City of Virginia Beach, with the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Fire and Emergency Services personnel and all the partners we are going to rely on if something goes wrong,” said Capt. Kit Chope, commanding officer of NAS Oceana. “Today’s event is the result of months of planning and preparation.We work to make sure that we know who’s who and understand what each other’s expectations and strengths are, so when we have an event like today, we all are prepared to assume our rightful roles.”
BILL LEFF RETURNING TO OCEANA AIR SHOW —Page 8
OUT OF THE DARKNESS WALK The 9th annual Out of the Darkness Community Walk will take place Sept. 6, at Mount Trashmore, Virginia Beach. Walk with thousands across the country in recognizing National Suicide Prevention Week. The walk raises awareness of depression and suicide and remembers a loved one lost to suicide. For more information, visit http://www. sos-walk.org.