Beale’s 9th MDG completes exercise Ready Eagle

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jason W. Cochran
  • 9RW/PA

The 9th Medical Group (MDG) executed exercise Ready Eagle Aug. 2 to 6, 2021, a weeklong endeavor designed to test all aspects of their readiness.

Throughout the week they completed classroom training sessions, table top exercises and a mass prophylaxis event, all leading up to their capstone on Aug. 6.

“On Aug. 6th, we had a simulated mass casualty event where I was part of the primary response and one of the first flight surgeons on the scene,” said Capt. Jonathan Mori, 99th Reconnaissance Squadron flight surgeon. “Essentially there was an explosion in one of the facilities on base resulting in about 15 to 20 casualties. Our first actions on scene were to triage patients using the Simple Triage And Rapid Transport protocol. Then depending on the priority or severity of the injury we initiated treatment of the patients in the field and coordinated transportation for the most critical patients.”

Exercises like this have been held by the 9th MDG in the past, said 1st Lt. Britny Connella, 9th Healthcare Operations Squadron laboratory services chief. What was new about the exercise was not only the scope, combining so many aspects of medical readiness, but also the sheer scale of it.

“This exercise truly covered every aspect of readiness for the 9th MDG,” said Connella. “Our bioenvironmental team was able to practice their skills in regards to identifying potential chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, exposure, the clinical teams were able to practice skills needed for mass casualty instances and more. These skills are important but aren’t used often based on our location and the sheer fact that our patients here are strictly outpatient.”

The all encompassing nature of the exercise brought the entire MDG together, allowing people that don't normally work together, the opportunity to see how other career fields do their job.

“Personally I really learned a lot from this exercise and I had a great time working with my colleagues and people I don't normally work with on a daily basis,” said Mori. “I was able to solve problems with them, bond and build rapport.”

Frontline Airmen and 9th MDG leadership alike were able to take away several lessons learned from the exercise.

“In reflecting on what was taken away from this experience, I think Airmen were afforded the opportunity to really put their knowledge and skills to work,” said Connella. “The teams are able to see what their strengths are and what areas they are able to improve in. The level size of this exercise was much larger than any other we had done before, so I believe that Airman were able to get a full picture of how they each play a role in these situations and it gives them confidence to know what to do in these situations, because at any time, this could truly happen and the training will become real life.”