“Having training of this magnitude with installation and local state emergency groups really speaks volumes to what we do out here on White Sands Missile Range and the care we take for medical readiness.” — Lt. Col. Kelley A. Watts, WSMR McAfee U.S. Army Health Clinic Deputy Commander for Nursing and Patient Services
Source: U.S. Army White Sands Missile Range (via Facebook)
By Anne Marie Chadima
White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs
Photos: Courtesy
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, N.M. (December 12, 2024) – On Dec. 5, White Sands Missile Range leadership and McAfee U.S. Army Health Clinic participated in an installation-wide mass casualty (MASCAL) exercise. WSMR Emergency Services and McAfee U.S. Army Health Clinic conducted this training to enhance interdisciplinary medical capabilities and disaster response for this MASCAL event.
The Integrated Protection Exercise which included a Mass Casualty event was designed, developed, and executed under the lens of the Bataan Memorial Death March. It was an opportunity for WSMR Fire and Law Enforcement, and McAfee U.S. Army Health Clinic to flex our emergency response skills by working together to identify and neutralize a threat, quickly triage, render lifesaving medical interventions, and evacuate casualties to a higher echelon of care.
“Having the opportunity to train in these scenarios helps identify gaps in our plan as well as identify friction points that can be corrected to improve our response for Bataan but just as equally important, for the WSMR community. We take great pride in ensuring we prepare ourselves to minimize the effects of any incident by saving lives amidst the chaos. McAfee looks forward to the next exercise where we will continue to hone our skills,” said WSMR McAfee U.S. Army Health Clinic Commander Lt. Col. Joseph E. Fisher.
This exercise refined triage, emergency medicine skills, and patient evacuation for disaster response. Additionally, medics and providers executed Individual Critical Task List (ICTL) and Prolonged Casualty Care training for deployment readiness. MASCAL training maintains medical readiness and syncs installation resources to achieve the Golden Hour standards for medical evacuation and treatment.
Each year when the Bataan Memorial Death March is held on the installation, WSMR McAfee U.S. Army Health Clinic has the privilege of working with the New Mexico Department of Health and Emergency Management, Texas Emergency Medical Task Force and Border Regional Advisory Councils. Each entity brings a wealth of knowledge, resources, and capabilities that ensure WSMR’s medical response is robust and the interoperability with these organizations is incredible.
“Having training of this magnitude with installation and local state emergency groups really speaks volumes to what we do out here on White Sands Missile Range and the care we take for medical readiness. This exercise exposes the opportunity to practice interoperability and enhance medical readiness during emergencies. Overall, this exercise made us stronger in honing our skills, local relationships, and improved our organization as a fully integrated team in response to a black-sky event. I want to thank all teams involved in this training event and every individual that acted to improve our identified goals that made this exercise a success,” said WSMR McAfee U.S. Army Health Clinic Deputy Commander for Nursing and Patient Services Lt. Col. Kelley A. Watts.
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