MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- BOOM! A bus filled with approximately 15 Marines and civilian personnel explodes and catches fire. Bodies are scattered inside and outside the bus. Blood is gushing from limbs and body parts are severely burnt. Screams of pain echo throughout the crash site. Sirens, flashing lights and confusion fill the area while first responders rush in to control the scene.
This chaos-filled area was the site for a mass casualty drill conducted to test the capabilities of the Station Fire Department, medical personnel, and the station Provost Marshal’s Office during exercise Active Shield 2011 at the Penny Lake field here March 2.
Although the drill was part of Active Shield, an exercise to test the station’s ability to defend itself against terrorist attacks, it also prepared first responders for any type of mass casualty situation.
As the first to arrive at the scene, PMO assessed the situation and began separating the victims according to the severity of their injuries, while also setting up a security perimeter.
The explosion left many of the casualties in critical condition and others with minor injuries.
Dispersed throughout the Penny Lake field, casualties had tags attached to them listing their injuries and physical or mental condition. Japanese firefighters immediately prepared an area to triage the casualties.
“The Japanese did an outstanding job,” said Lt. Graham T. Danyleyko, the Branch Health Clinic emergency management officer. “They were moving quickly, they communicated well, and they worked well with our guys.”
Medical personnel began evacuating casualties of the highest priority and reassured those with minor injuries they would be taken care of as soon as possible.
“This training is important, especially in our line of work because you never know what kind of things you may see,” said Capt. Shawn Niemann, BHC senior medical officer. “All of us are seeing primary care-type patients on a day to day basis, but there is always the potential for a mass casualty of one kind or another, and that’s something we need to be prepared for.”
Though there were minor setbacks, the overall mission was accomplished.
“The biggest issue we had on the scene was communication,” said Lt. Aditya Raghunandan, the Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron flight surgeon. “A lot of us didn’t have radios, so having to find someone to use their radio to communicate to the clinic made communication difficult.”
Once the casualties were transported to the BHC, they were reevaluated and treated for their ailments.
“From the time we called the drill, we had everybody here. We set up and waited for our first patients,” said Niemann. “From there, I think things ran very smoothly.”
While every exercise has improvements that need to be made for the following year, Danyleyko said he feels like all responders improved greatly from last year and this year’s exercise ran more smoothly than any other mass casualty drills he has witnessed.
The drill furthered the first responders’ expertise, reinforced their skills and strengthened the simulated victims’ confidence in the first responders’ abilities.