BEAUFORT, S.C. - Hundreds of Air National Guard personnel and members of local-area disaster response agencies participated in one of the largest mock-disaster scenarios in Beaufort County history Tuesday, April 22, exercising the Air Guard's Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) capabilities in the triage, treatment and medical air evacuation of 100 "˜victims.'
Air Guard medical professionals from ten states converged on the Shanklin Road exercise complex to test their expeditionary medical support skills as part of Vigilant Guard 2008, a National Guard sponsored exercise designed to test the ability of the Guard, along with federal, state, and local first responders, to react to a domestic emergency. Air Guard members from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Kansas, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Vermont participated in the mass-casualty exercise.
The victims sustained simulated injuries that ranged from severe anxiety to life-threatening cases requiring airlift evacuation. About two dozen individuals were airlifted by National Guard OH-58 Kiowa and UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
This year's scenario began with a mock 7.3 earthquake centered in Beaufort County. After-effects of the earthquake will result in more than 50 various exercise-related scenarios at incident site locations throughout the county, including several that involve emergency medicine.
Vigilant Guard tested the National Guard's Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) capabilities. EMEDS is a modular, scalable, rapid response medical package that can be used in humanitarian relief, wartime contingencies and disaster response operations.
There are four unique EMEDS packages ranging from small portable units with a dozen medical personnel to the largest EMEDS + 25 that builds to nine tents, has a staff of 84 and is able to provide emergency medical care for a population at risk of 3,000-5,000. The EMEDS in the Vigilant Guard exercise was an EMEDS + 10 consisting of six tents, 56 medical personnel, an ability to care for up to 3,000 personnel and having ancillary services including laboratory, radiology, pharmacy and dental.
The EMEDS facility used in this year's Vigilant Guard exercise has seen service before in Bay St. Louis, Miss., following Hurricane Katrina. It is part of the Kansas Air National Guard medical inventory. The 2007 Air National Guard Medical Service budget included funding for 52 basic EMEDS, one for every state plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
The exercise scenario in Beaufort consisted of numerous casualties played by dozens of "˜role players,' many of whom were South Carolina National Guard members from throughout the state and beyond who were each assigned a certain "˜injury.' Medical technicians then expertly performed "˜moulage,' makeup applied to simulate exceptionally realistic injuries to include fractures, open wounds and other medical problems.
Actors were briefed by exercise evaluators as to what their symptoms would be and encouraged to "˜act out' their symptoms in order to give a realistic presentation to the medical professionals conducting triage.
The exercise was, according to many participants and observers, exceedingly realistic and helpful.
"So far it's been a very realistic exercise," said Lt. Col. Ed Wakem, EMEDS vice commander from the 143rd Air Wing, Quonset Point, Rhode Island. "There's no mission more fulfilling than helping our fellow citizens during times of crisis and war."
"It's been a great learning experience with realistic scenarios for a state-wide disaster. It's good that medical technicians from five or six states can come and work together so well as a team," said MSgt. Pamela Pilgrim, a medical technician with the Air Guard's 187th Fighter Wing's Medical Group, Montgomery, Alabama. "We're glad to be here." Some two dozen members of the Alabama Air Guard are taking part in Vigilant Guard.
Colonel David Brown, chief of staff of the Beaufort County Sherriff's Office was a visitor in the EMEDS facility, escorted by 1st Sgt. William Franklin, 117th Medical Group, Birmingham, Alabama.
"I'm very impressed by all I've seen and how it can be expanded to additional beds and space," Brown said. "I hope we never have to make use of this facility in Beaufort but it's comforting to know that it's available if need be." The Beaufort County Sherriff's Office has about 65 people participating in the exercise.
Many other first responders from the local area were also involved in the exercise including the Beaufort County Emergency Medical Service with almost 30 members assisting in the simulated air medical evacuations that took place.
"Our role is to make sure the right number of patients are loaded onto the helicopters and sent to the four hospitals in the area," said Joseph Schaefer, senior crew chief of the Beaufort County EMS. "We have to make sure we don't overload one hospital and the hospitals have the capability to receive air evacuations."
Assisting the EMS and the EMEDS mission are local-area HAM radio operators. Two members of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) of Beaufort County were on-scene at the exercise, Murray Baughman (WA4MPZ) and Mike Sinisi (KB1CTC).
"We're here to assist EMS with communication; we maintain contact with the Emergency Operations Center and local hospitals," said Baughman. "We relay the patient count, destination, departure times, and ETA at the hospital." Baughman is a member of the Islander Amateur Radio Association (IARA), one of two radio clubs in the area. Sinisi is a member of the Beaufort Radio Amateur Group (BRAG).
Commenting on the role of Air Guard medical professionals in the EMEDS, Col. (Dr.) Dana Rawl, state air surgeon for South Carolina said, "We're here to respond to simulated civilian casualties in a realistic state-wide mass disaster exercise. We're simulating emergency care, psychiatry, orthopedics, surgery, general and urgent care, and even an OB/GYN case."