Medical personnel train in decontamination Published Oct. 8, 2015 By Airman Gwendalyn Smith 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Members of the 375th Medical Group participated in quarterly decontamination training Oct. 1 at the clinic. During the training the members are required to take an all-day class and the following day they are tested on their knowledge during a timed scenario. "We are in the classroom for eight hours on Wednesday, then Thursday we come out and set it up three times, then have our final timed trial," said Staff Sgt. Miranda Savino, the alternate team chief of the in-place patient decontamination team, or IPPD. There were 20 people from the 375th MDG who took part in this training. Most of the members who participated have never dealt with a scenario or training like this. "I like the fact that we get 20 inexperienced people on Wednesday morning, who say they know nothing about DECON and by Thursday afternoon they can perform this incredibly important mission like a well-oiled machine," said Tom Bocek, Decontamination Education training manager. According to Savino and Lt. Ricky Pierson, the team chief of the IPPD team, most of the Airmen who participated in this training are still first term Airmen. The team tries to train on a regular basis however, two-thirds of the team are fairly new, and leaving only one-third of the team as seasoned veterans who can help lead the team. "The bulk of the members are young enlisted Airmen," said Savino. "Even though they are young they still have a broad spectrum of knowledge to save people's lives. It goes way beyond the scope of what we're normally taught." Because there are many young Airmen who have not received this training, the medical group takes advantage of hands-on training opportunities as much as possible. "We would rather have the opportunity to have hands-on training instead of simulation," said Pierson. "The capabilities we have to play everything out like it would happen in a real world situation helps the team stay trained and sharp." During the training, the team must set up a tent with three lanes. Two lanes are ambulatory lanes, which means the patient is contaminated, but can walk through themselves. One lane is for males, and the other is for females. The middle lane is for non-ambulatory patients who cannot walk and are put on a litter and washed by team members. They also took care of two patients with a goal of 20 minutes, but the team's main focus was making sure the patient was safely and thoroughly decontaminated. "There is a record time, but our goal is not to beat it," said Pierson. "If we beat it that's great, however, our goal is that everyone gets the appropriate training with appropriate timing, and that it's done safely and thoroughly. We don't want to risk the inability to take care of our patients."