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MASCAL exercise tests response

Image by U.S. Army Korea (Historical Image Archive)
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MASCAL exercise tests response

CAMP HUMPHREYS — A 25-passenger bus crashed into a bus stop, hitting a bystander who broke his back and paralyzing him from the waist down. The bus driver had suffered a heart attack and lost control of the bus, and passengers suffered various injuries.

The bus was on fire and completely covered with smoke and could explode at any minute. The United States Army Garrison Humphreys Fire Department arrived to extinguish the fire and rescue the victims. Medical personnel performed First Aid, with the victims then transported to Osan Hospital, Good Morning Hospital and Dankuk Hospital.

This was all a part of USAG Humphrey’s garrison wide mass casualty exercise on Nov. 3. Members of the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security coordinated the exercise.

“A 25-passenger bus crashes with casualties on board, and it instantly becomes a MASCAL medical situation”, said the Humphreys Fire Department Training Chief Dathan Black. “This exercise is important because history has proven that we need to prepare for catastrophic events involving many people. We are exercising our capability to handle multiple patients and get them to medical attention in a hurry.”

Ashley Robles, a family member and art instructor, applied make-up to the notional casualties to make the wounds look more realistic.

Another scenario was a school evacuation involving Humphreys American School and the Education center, with over 500 children participating.

“This is a part of the annual requirement to practice mass evacuation for safety purposes”, said Randall S. Pryor, an Anti-Terrorism Officer at Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security. “It could be any natural disasters such as tornadoes or terrorist attacks that trigger this mass evacuation situation. In this exercise, all objectives were met and the evacuation plan was exercised. All kids were accounted for at the end and no one got hurt, making this a successful exercise.”