Welcome home CVW-8, VFA-15, VFA-31, VFA-87, VFA-213, VAW-124, VRC 40 det 2, HSC-9 and SeaOpDet VOL. 53 NO. 45 NOVEMBER 13, 2014
SERVING NAVAL AIR STATION OCEANA, DAM NECK ANNEX, AND NALF FENTRESS
Local, state and federal agencies respond to drill at Fentress
JET
INSIDE
CSCSU DAM NECK OPENS NEW TRAINER
BY MC2 (SW) ALYSIA HERNANDEZ NAS Oceana Public Affairs Sirens were blaring just before 9 a.m. at Naval Auxiliary Landing Field (NALF) Fentress in Chesapeake for an exercise Nov. 5. The exercise scenario started as an aircraft mishap and escalated to include a chemical biological agent, requiring further assistance from more equipped emergency responders. “As you know, Fentress is home to a lot of fixed wing … and helicopter operations throughout the year,” said Capt. Kit Chope, commanding officer of NAS Oceana, Dam Neck Annex and NALF Fentress.“Today’s scenario is going to involve a helicopter. What happens after that and what chemicals or hazardous materials may or may not be aboard; that’s what we’ll find out and that’s why we’ve got the experts from the Virginia National Guard here to do their testing,to find out what we can do to protect the local population.” Exercises like this allow multiple agencies the opportunity to work together as they would in a real life emergency situation. “The exercise is going to be a simulation of an emergency. We’re going to have local responders from … local, state and federal response teams doing what we do in a real world situation, which is to come in and ascertain the dangers and work together, which is the key point of this exercise,” said Maj. Michael Booker, commander of the 34th Civil Support Team (CST) of the Virginia National Guard. Booker said that one of the difficulties of an exercise
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Photo by Harry Gerwien During an aircraft mishap drill, firefighters from the Navy Mid-Atlantic Region extinguish a blaze at the helicopter fire trainer at NALF Fentress Nov. 5. The drill, which included a simulated chemical biological agent, brought together Navy first responders with the 34th Civil Support Team (CST) of the Virginia National Guard and the City of Chesapeake.
This is a great opportunity for the different levels to work together to see how we would do it in the real world where we’re working together to accomplish the same goal.” -Maj. Michael Booker, Commander of the 34th Civil Support Team (CST) of the Virginia National Guard
involving the different levels of local,state and federal agencies is that each of their teams practice on their own and know how to handle a situation individually. “This is a great opportunity for the different levels to work together to see how we would do it in the real world where we’re working together to accomplish the same goal,” he added. Something that is usually learned in past exercises, Chope said, is how to communicate with each other, and there is no substitute for getting out in the field and actually doing the training. “We can talk about it all day, we can
— See Exercise, Page 4
LOCAL MARINES CELEBRATE 239TH BIRTHDAY —Page 9
EDUCATION FAIR The Fall Education Fair will be held Nov. 18, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Navy College in building 53, suite 101, at NAS Oceana. Thirty colleges and universities are scheduled to attend to provide enrollment, scholarship and financial aid information. There will also be free pizza, drinks, chips and giveaways. For more information, contact Navy College at 433-3129.