ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Leadership and support agencies from across the 97th Air Mobility Wing participated in the base’s first-ever casualty response exercise led by the first sergeants at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Oct. 21, 23, and 25, 2024.
During the training, command teams were provided with realistic scenarios designed to challenge their decision-making skills and responses to crises. By working through these scenarios, including navigating attempted suicides, suicides, duty-related accidents, murder-suicides, aircraft incidents, and missing Airmen, command teams were able to experience firsthand the difficulties involved in responding to various incidents.
“The intent of this training was to make sure that we got to practice (casualty response) in a safe environment,” said Master Sgt. Daniel Bagwell, 97th Civil Engineer Squadron first sergeant. “A situation where you have a casualty while in command is not something that you get a chance to redo if you miss a step or do something wrong. This gave us an opportunity to make sure we were providing command teams with the proper information to advise them if they experienced a loss while they were in command.”
Several agencies including public affairs, religious affairs, command post, mortuary affairs, and civilian personnel, helped command teams navigate the various scenarios, allowing the leaders to hone their skills and think through responses to crises before they arise.
“This training was about Airmen and how we as command teams can take care of them and their families through something we all hope doesn’t happen,” said Lt. Col. David Scherff, 97th Comptroller Squadron commander. “If it does, the training was invaluable and I appreciate the first sergeants putting it together and giving us the opportunity to be exposed to this scenario before we’d have to execute it for real.”