CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
With a little more than a week remaining until the unit compliance inspection, base emergency response units are ready to put their best foot forward, according to emergency management leadership.
Throughout the inspection, situational awareness, security and safety are paramount for first responders, but they are also fundamental practices for all of Team Charleston during the emergency management inspection tentatively scheduled for May 13, said David Hunt, 437th Airlift Wing chief of inspections.
As opposed to an operational readiness inspection, which lasts days, the EMI will be condensed. The inspection will occur in a single day, with inject scenarios unpredictably interspersed and inspectors watchfully eyeing people for a sense of urgency and careful decision making.
"We will only have a few hours to prove to the inspector general that we know what we are doing," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Todd, 437th Civil Engineer Squadron commander.
Although the inspection will be a challenge, emergency managers expressed a high level of confidence in the base's emergency services' level of training and ability to respond in a crisis situation.
"If something goes wrong, it will be a technicality," said Capt. Timothy Brodman, 437 CES emergency management and response flight chief.
Communication between emergency response agencies is excellent, he said.
The subject of EMI preparation was a main topic between emergency managers and their colleagues from around the base at a semi-annual working group meeting held recently.
In spite of preparations by emergency agencies, a concern at the meeting was in reference to people, such as retirees, visitors and non-first responders, who may be unsure of what to do if an emergency scenario develops around them.
It was stressed the assessment will be a base-wide inspection, and no one, military or civilian, is exempt from observation by the inspection team.
"In exercises, there is no such thing as a non-player," said Mr. Hunt.
The inspection team isn't expecting people to know how to safely render an explosive device harmless if they aren't a trained technician, Captain Brodman said, but there will be an expectation to see individuals finding safe cover and calling for emergency help.
Examples of things people can expect to see are simulated situations ranging from a suspicious package requiring explosive ordnance disposal, terrorist use of chemical or other weapons to a robbery at the Base Exchange.
Captain Brodman said it is entirely possible that the base's exercise force protection condition could reach elevated levels if an exercise scenario warrants it and an outbreak of different scenarios could happen, all at nearly the same time.
Individuals should be prepared to participate in shelter-in-place exercises as well, Mr. Hunt said.
Everyone's contributions will count toward the base's rating in the inspection, and people familiarizing themselves with the UCI ground rules will pay out big dividends, said Lt. Col. Susan Ferrera, 437th Mission Support Group deputy commander.
"We all need to buy in on this," Colonel Ferrera said. "This is an inspection on the entire wing."
At the recent 437 AW Quarterly Awards Ceremony April 23, Col. John "Red" Millander, 437 AW commander, rallied his team to the call of excellence during the UCI.
"Get fired up! Show them what you've got," he said.
At the close of the ceremony, the colonel announced wing-level reviews of UCI checklist items would no longer be necessary, citing the months of planning leading to the unit's assessment have offered all he can as the wing's commander to help ensure an outstanding evaluation.
As Team Charleston makes its final preparations for the week of inspection and test of fervor, a personal sense of responsibility can be gleaned from the final words of his message.
"The rest is up to you," he said.