CE sweeps, cleans after attack

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kaleb Snay
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  Sirens break the silence on base as the alarm blares and the announcement "Missiles inbound" goes out. Airmen snap into action, relying on months and months of training to make the right moves to defend and respond to the attack.

Once the attack is over and the order "Limited release" is given, the first members to respond are the Post-Attack Reconnaissance teams. Ensuring the safety of all personnel inside the building, the PAR team's vigilance is of the upmost importance.

"They are the eyes and the ears of the squadron," said Tech. Sgt. Eric Schmidt, 35th Inspector General Wing Inspection Team evaluator. "They provide the feedback information to their unit command center that keeps personnel and assets safe after an attack."

When Airmen are released to sweep the area, they keep about 25 feet between them, with the member in the back keeping in contact with their Unit Control Center via radio.

One of the highest priorities for the sweepers is to check areas for chemical contamination on simulated M-8 and M-9 chemical detection paper placed around their buildings. They also sweep the area for Unexploded Ordnance and injured Airmen, which they report to their UCC and provide Self-aid and Buddy care as needed.

"It can be time consuming having to clear our building, but we have to stay on our toes and watch for UXOs and anything else suspicious," said Senior Airman Mark Wirth, 35th Civil Engineer Squadron structures apprentice.

Along with checking the chemical decontamination papers, Airmen also have the duty of replacing the contaminated plastic covering the vehicles as well as decontaminating their ECP, gear and finally, themselves. All this precaution is needed because as bad as chemical contamination can be, spreading it around is even worse.

"If a contamination were to breach the inside our building, it could spread rapidly, disabling and even killing Airmen," said Wirth. "It would highly disrupt the mission, especially if this was a real-world contingency."

Although the members of the 35th Civil Engineer Squadron are not in a real contingency environment, the Operational Readiness Exercise keeps them on their toes. An ORE simulates a stressful wartime environment and tests how Airmen respond to various realistic challenges they may face during a deployment.

"The exercise is thorough," said Wirth. "They do a great job testing our abilities and making sure we are prepared. When we leave the Entry Control Point, we need to be ready for anything."