AMSUS Heros: Homeland Security Summit Provides Exercise for First Responders

Military Medicine, Summer 2004

NEWS OF INTEREST

The exercise began with a bang. A reported suicide bomber blew himself up near a local college campus, and shortly thereafter a plane carrying some 85 passengers was hijacked from Hartsfield Airport and used the smoke to vector and crash into the campus. It landed close by a government lab where Biological Level 4 materials were being handled (eg, ebola, hemorrhagic fever, etc).

This exercise capped off a week-long training seminar for federal, state, and local level government and private sector persons concerned with homeland security. The WMD exercise at Dobbins Air Reserve Base on September 25 was a practical demonstration of a scenario which also allowed practice for first responders. Many agencies were involved and there was real-time coordination and communication with Washington, D.C.

The homeland security summit (http://www.securitysummit.org) is a non-profit organization and this is the 2nd year it was conducted. Some 84 Georgia State Defense Force Personnel participated in the exercise held all day on September 25, 2003. Responders from local police, fire, medical and emergency response personnel all were involved. After the suicide bomber (a dummy detonated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation) a simulated crash of a plane occurred complete with massive fire. The fire was fought by firefighters from Austell, Atlanta, and Smyrna, Georgia.

The exercise involved some 50 victims who were all volunteer medical trainees, and who were doctored with various wounds and diseases from the bio-terror attack. Personnel from the National Guards 4th Weapons of Mass Destruction Community Support Team under Major Jeffrey Alien participated as well. In addition, units from the American Red Cross, as well as the Disaster Medical Assistance Team from the Dept. of Homeland security were active at the exercise.

Victims were triaged at the site by GSDF medical personnel under the command of AMSUS member Major Lamorah Stephens, ARNG, AR (Ret), taken for decontamination by Atlanta Fire Department and later assisted to the DMAT tents by GSDF personnel. There was also excellent support from Dobbins ARB who provided a fly-overs for bio-assessment, and a helo to bring the 4th CST group to the site. GSDF Major Mike McShane was the Office in Charge of all the teams which included helo/lz staff, medical, PAO, Traffic, Radio, and Security.