Decontamination team mobilizes during ORE

Decontamination tents are used by Airmen from the 35th Medical Group to cleanse patients who were exposed to chemicals during the operational readiness exercise at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 28, 2014. Patients are guided through the tent and scrubbed and sprayed until they are free of chemical residue. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Patrick S. Ciccarone)

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Decontamination team mobilizes during ORE

Airmen from the 35th Medical Group’s decontamination team prepares for an incoming patient during an operational readiness exercise at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 28, 2014. The team assembled after they were notified a patient was exposed to chemicals during a simulated attack during the ORE. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Patrick S. Ciccarone)

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Decontamination team mobilizes during ORE

An Airman from the 35th Medical Group prepares an Airman for the decontamination process during an operational readiness exercise at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 28, 2014. Once patients are decontaminated, they are admitted into the hospital’s triage unit. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Patrick S. Ciccarone)

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Decontamination team mobilizes during ORE

Airman 1st Class Kiani Montecillo, 35th Medical Group, helps Airman 1st Class Cory Sumter, 35th Communications Squadron, process through the decontamination area at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Jan. 28, 2014. While performing a post attack reconnaissance sweep, Sumter was contaminated by a simulated chemical attack and had to report to the 35 MDG to be decontaminated. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Zachary Kee)

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Decontamination team mobilizes during ORE

Published Jan. 29, 2014
By Airman 1st Class Patrick S. Ciccarone
35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- During the decontamination process, patients who have been exposed to volatile chemicals and toxins are escorted to the hospital, where they are intercepted by a specialized decontamination team. Stripping the patient of his contaminated clothes, the team sends the contaminated person through a tent containing a system of shower heads and washers. After the patient is cleaned by the team, he is brought into the triage unit for further care treatment.