Dover Mortuary Control Center prepares for worst case scenario
Air Mobility Command News Service
12/12/2002
Tech. Sgt. Paul A. Fazzini 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AMCNS) - It's something almost no one, except the enemy, would ever want to see happen here, but it's something the members of the Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs has to be ready for - the arrival of large numbers of casualties.
As part of mass casualty exercise Dec. 6, personnel at Dover simulated the reception of approximately 200 human remains transported by C-5 and C-17 aircraft. The exercise was designed to prepare mortuary staff and the Mortuary Control Center team for such an event.
According to Maj. Jeff Yocum, 436th Services Squadron commander and a leader of the MCC, the exercise allowed the team to "scrub" through the base's operating instruction.
"The OI is several years old, so this exercise was important because it gave us an opportunity to look at each units' responsibilities, fine tune them, and make corrections," he said.
"This exercise, however, wasn't important just because of the age of the current instructions or even because of the dignity required by the operation, it's important because doing the job right affects the psyche of the American people," said Col. Charles P. Smiley, 436th Mission Support Group commander.
The exercise began at 9 a.m., when the MCC was activated. More than 25 Dover Team members represented nearly every group or unit on base. Some of the key areas the MCC staff focused on involved aircraft arrival and parking, transferring the remains from the aircraft to trucks for transport to the mortuary, arrival ceremonies, support to family members of the deceased servicemembers, media requirements, contracting and finance issues, and critical incident stress management.
"We wanted to make sure we addressed and account for all the little details of this operation," said Lt. Col. Bruce Bush, U.S. Air Force Services Agency director of programs, who traveled from Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, to attend the exercise. "The Air Force is very good at mortuary operations because we account for everything."
Some of the scenarios presented helped generate discussions one might not consider by just reading the OI. For instance, the first "simulated" aircraft to arrive to Dover had only one deceased Air Force servicemember on board, but it also had one Navy, 18 Marine, and 50 Army remains. The high number of remains on board generated a lengthy discussion surrounding how many trucks it would take to move the remains to the mortuary. It also caused the Contracting Squadron representative to jump into action to locate the needed number of vehicles.
The fact that several military services were represented on that first aircraft also posed questions concerning what type of ceremony should be provided. From there, the team began talking about the families and how they should be cared for.
It wasn't just the arrival that generated discussions. Where the remains processing and identification team would be lodged, where they would eat, and how and where they could step away from the operation if the stress of it all got too high was also considered.
Overall, it was the free flow of information that made the tabletop exercise so good.
"The level of support the (436th) Aerial Port would have to play in a mass casualty event wasn't clearly defined in the operating instruction," said Capt. Lionel Rodriguez, 436th Aerial Port Squadron combat readiness and resource flight commander. "This exercise enabled us to see exactly how much of a role we would play, and it's significant."
"Overall, it was enlightening for everyone involved," said Bill Zwicharowski, acting mortuary officer, who also said Dover's associate Reserve wing would participate in a similar exercise Saturday. "Anytime you can get all the gears going at the same time, you're going to be able to train hard. And, training hard is one of the best ways to ensure you do the job right and you do it efficiently as possible."
According to Smiley, the end product of this exercise isn't just a good operating instruction. "It's doing the right thing for the families."
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