US personnel recovery training efforts

Americans involved in the field of Personnel Recovery (PR) count themselves among one of the most dedicated communities in the military and civil emergency domains, being that there is an ingrained commitment to seeing fellow servicemen and women returned home safely. Therefore, training for PR operations remains regular and consistent, with recent military exercises now providing more in-roads for external agencies and nations to cooperate in ways that emphasise a universal refusal to leave no one behind.

Joint Services

May 2014 saw the welcome return of ANGEL THUNDER, the largest and most realistic joint service, multinational, interagency combat search and rescue exercise designed to provide training for PR assets using a variety of scenarios. These scenarios simulate deployment conditions and contingencies with PR forces training through the full spectrum of relevant capabilities alongside ground recovery personnel, air assets, special forces teams and federal agents. The exercise was undertaken between the Pacific Ocean and Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona.

More than 2,700 participants took part in the operation and this year saw additional involvement from Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, with the Commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force also observing the proceedings. Aside to PR, combat search and rescue (C-SAR) training was provided for combat aircrews, pararescue, intelligence personnel, battle managers and joint SAR personnel. For the first time ever, a charity specialising in PR was also invited to take part. These efforts to progress integration demonstrate a trend that will look to be continued next year.

The exercise included a wide variety of scenarios. One example involved 30-40 casualties strewn over a wide area with no communications, to which rescuers had to set a pathfinding system to locate the injured, assess their needs and call in relevant MEDEVAC support. Notable this year, in terms of equipment, was the prevalence of unmanned aerial systems and artificial intelligence systems, as every service continues to increase its digital capabilities.

"Personnel recovery missions are often short term operations because they are a response to a crisis situation," said Col. Sean Choquette, Commander of the 563rd Rescue Group. "By conducting Exercises like ANGEL THUNDER, we are working to build up relationships ahead of time and to establish standard operating procedures so it's easier to execute the mission than if the relationship did not exist and you have to build trust along the way."

Air Force

On 27 August, the 412th Test Wing undertook a training exercise near to Edwards Air Force Base involving a scenario in which an F-16 crashes 14 miles east of California City in the desolate Mojave Desert. Exercise DESERT WIND 14-06 was designed to assess the Wing’s response capabilities when it comes to the recovery of personnel and aircraft wreckage. While an Air Force initiative, the exercise was performed in collaboration with the local California City Police and Fire Departments (hypothetically, the first responders in a real life scenario), which were also being graded on their procedures by respective officials.

In the designated simulation, the Edwards AFB tower was notified at 8 a.m. by Ridley Mission Control that an F-16 was flying chase with an F-15 when the aircraft collided, causing the former to hit the ground. Crisis Action Team (CAT) and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) members were immediately recalled to their stations while reports from off base were coming in of a loud crash and smoke. The first responders arrived on scene and identified the object as a military jet, communicating the news to Edwards, who then sent in their own fire fighters.

Fighter jet crashes pose a particular hazard when responding because of the presence of weapons and chemicals onboard. Jets made out of composites can also release toxic materials when burning. Where the F-16 was concerned, responders had to check for the presence of (very flammable and toxic) hydrazine. The Air Force fire department is therefore prepared with the necessary training and equipment to handle such accidents, but readiness levels are never allowed to slack.

After removing the immediate threats of fire and chemicals, the AFB firefighters established an entry control point to keep the public before staff on the Wing’s Emergency Management Office arrived to establish a command centre. The Wing Inspection Team, a newly formed unit, observed the exercise while CAT and EOC members communicated instructions and decisions from the base. As fighter aircraft are designed with specific cockpit safety measures, personnel needed to test their ability to release the pilot (a mannequin) from the ejection seat.

DESERT WIND 14-06 represents just one of several annual exercises undertaken by the 412th TW to prime emergency response and readiness.

Marine Corps

Furthering the level of collaboration taking place with Eastern European partners and allies at this time, the U.S. Marine Corps worked with soldiers from the Slovenian Army in August during the IMMEDIATE RESPONSE 2014 exercise, held in Vipava, Slovenia. While the exercise involves over 900 personnel from mainly U.S., Slovenian and Croatian armed forces, as well as smaller contingents of other European nations, special attention was placed on the response procedures required when combat injuries prove fatal and appropriate measures are needed to expedite the safe return of human remains.

Marines with Personnel Retrieval and Processing (PRP) Company, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Forces Reserve, travelled from Atlanta, Georgia to instruct Slovenian personnel on the meticulous –and often emotional – process of repatriating fallen soldiers.

For the USMC, mortuary affairs begins with carefully documenting everything that the Marine is carrying and wearing, securing those items in a transfer case and wrapping a U.S. flag around it for a respectful transport back to the Marine’s family.

The U.S. military, alongside other NATO allies, are keen to continue close collaboration with Slovenia and all other partner nations that have made a significant contribution to the Afghanistan campaign. Methods of personnel recovery naturally vary from one country to the next, but the sharing of individual processes is helping each to restructure and refine best practice, which becomes increasingly important to a future of further coalition engagement, and one in which multinational teams may respond together to natural disasters or other crises.

Marines provided basic procedure classes, beginning with an overview of the significance of the activity and going through their routine in principle followed by a hands-on scenario-based exercise. Simulated training was then provided in a mock morgue, to which the Slovenian personnel applied their lessons “seamlessly” under Marine observance.

Lance Cpl. Andrew Weber, a team member with PRP, said, “Training here in Slovenia gives us a chance to train alongside the soldiers from our partner nations. All the countries involved get the chance to expose each other to how we conduct things. In my opinion, this is bigger than just you and me, bigger than the Marines; it’s a worldwide partnership.