Opinicus Vista 18-1 at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado

James Kuhn, Jerry Quintana and Jon Rinesmith, firefighters with the Schriever Air Force Base Fire Department, tend to an exercise victim during Opinicus Vista 18-1 at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, March 6, 2018. The 50th Space Wing Inspector General’s office conducted OV 18-1 to evaluate the wing's first responders’ ability to respond to an emergency situation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Dennis Rogers)

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES
03.16.2018
Story by Airman William Tracy
50th Space Wing 

Emergency personnel responded to a simulated active shooter and explosive ordinance scenario for Opinicus Vista 18-1, a base-wide exercise which ran March 6-8.

Airmen throughout the base demonstrated their ability to respond to these emergency scenarios, as well as adapt to lockdown procedures for the wing’s largest exercise of the year.

The exercise kicked-off with a simulated active shooter scenario. Emergency responders promptly reacted to the situation, securing the area and alerting the base populace to the threat.

“This is the first big exercise we’ve done this year,” said Capt. Joseph Villalpando, wing exercise program manager with the 50th Space Wing Inspector General’s office. “If you look at the news, there’s crazy stuff happening all the time. Having our people prepared for any kind of situation is important.”

Security forces personnel were able to neutralize the active shooter; and discovered a simulated unexploded ordinance, prompting a response from Explosive Ordinance Disposal members with the 21st Civil Engineering Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base.

The Schriever Air Force Base Fire Department and Rocky Mountain Medical personnel worked hand in hand to treat the simulated injured.

EOD combined man and technology, dressing one of their own in a protective suit while deploying a special bomb disposal robot to quickly neutralize the threat.

Tech. Sgt. Martin Howard, section chief of wing exercises with the 50th IG, and veteran of past base exercises, praised OV 18-1’s unique use of EOD resources.

Base personnel furthered this trend of readiness throughout the exercise’s duration.

The 50th IG conducted a deployment line to display the wing’s ability to mobilize its members to respond to various incidents March 8.

“We’re a military institution, so we need to be able to deploy our people on short notice if anything ever comes up,” Villalpando said.

Exercise evaluators commended the base response.

“Everyone who participated was able to meet their objectives,” Villalpando said. “Seeing overall coordination with different units was great.”

He explained base-wide exercises such as OV 18-1 provide valuable training opportunities and help strengthen bonds between units.

“During our hot wash, fire department and EOD representatives were saying how they were able to communicate very well,” Villalpando said. “For units such as Rocky Mountain Medical personnel, their leadership was telling us how helpful it (the exercise) was for them since normally they don’t have enough people to plan out their own exercises.”

Martin and Villalpando agreed base-wide exercises help to strengthen the base and its ties to the local community and emergency responders, keeping Schriever Airmen ready for anything in uncertain times.

“We plan accordingly to meet our objectives and we do that by reaching out to the base populace,” Martin said. “By reaching out to them, we can help them meet their readiness requirements as well, and they did.”

These lessons will be carried on for the next exercise, Opinicus Vista 18-2, tentatively scheduled for June.

Damage Controlman Maintenance Checks

MEDITERRANEAN SEA (March 13, 2018) Damage Controlman 3rd Class Aiza Aloria does maintenance checks on an air relief valve aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) March 13, 2018. Donald Cook, forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, is on its seventh patrol in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of regional allies and partners, and U.S. national security interests in Europe and Africa. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alyssa Weeks / Released)

Air Force Airman Receives Navy Firefighter of the Year Award

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Pacheco | 180315-N-NU281-0001 PEARL HARBOR (March 18, 2018) Air Force Airman 1st Class Brandon Laird is recognized as the Navy Military Firefighter of the Year for District 3, Navy Region Hawaii, by Rear Admiral Brian Fort, commander, Navy Region Hawaii. As the winner of the Navy Military Firefighter of the Year award, Laird will be submitted as the Navy's representative to compete against winners in the same category from other branches of the military at the Department of Defence level. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Justin Pacheco)

PEARL HARBOR, HI, UNITED STATES

03.15.2018

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Pacheco 

Navy Public Affairs Support Element Detachment Hawaii  

The spirit of camaraderie and cooperation between the U.S. Navy and Air Force is alive and well at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, as evidenced most recently by Air Force Airman 1st Class Brandon Laird, who was just annouced the Navy Military Firefighter of the Year.

As the winner of the Navy Military Firefighter of the Year award, Laird will be submitted as the Navy's representative to compete against winners in the same category from other branches of the military at the Department of Defence (DOD) level.

Laird said it was inspiring to work together alongside Navy Firefighters and that he is excited to take what he learned back to his team.

“Working with the Navy’s firefighters was a great and very intensive learning experience,” said Laird. “They clearly take firefighting very seriously, and that shows in how they train and in how they fight.”

The annual award recognizes accomplishments, technical competence, leadership ability, initiative, and resourcefulness. It also identifies an active duty, reserve or National Guard military firefighter for a superior job performance and outstanding contributions.

“I’m very thankful for the joint-service attitude and approach at our Federal Fire Department and for what they bring to the fight,” said Col. Doug Pierce, Deputy Joint Base Commander. “They work as one team – Navy, Air Force, and civilian – and that is truly inspiring. My congratulations to Airman 1st Class Laird and the Federal Fire team. You are all leading the way!”

Laird said he is proud of his accomplishments but the opportunity to help others and to serve as an example was and is more important to him. “Awards and recognition are nice, but it's not the reason of why I do what I do.” 

Among his accomplishments, Laird provided fire protection to 185,000 military and civilian personnel, 11,000 facilities, 63 aircraft and 39 Navy ships, all valued at over $53 billion. He’s also led the charge in combatting several fires, saving lives and millions of dollars in equipment and property.

Laird’s hard work did not go unnoticed by his peers and supervisors.

“The men and women of the Federal Fire Department represent a committed and professional workforce dedicated to protecting those who defend America,” said Gregg Moriguchi, Regional Fire Chief. “The competition in these categories is extremely high, and Laird best displayed our principles of professionalism, continuous improvement, hazard awareness, and setting an example for others to follow.”

Presented by Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC), the Navy Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) awards program was instituted in 1997. Nominees are selected based on criteria developed by the DoD F&ES working group, which is composed of the chiefs of the service components' respective F&ES programs. 

A formal award recognition ceremony will be held in May at CNIC headquarters at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington D.C.

For more information about the Navy's F&ES program, visit http://www.cnic.navy.mil/om/operating_forces_support/fire_and_emergency_services.html