Exercises - working together, preparing for the worst Published March 11, 2008 By Col. Al Hunt 375th Airlift Wing commander Scott Air Force Base, Ill. -- By now, we're all familiar with the routine. You're recalled at 4 a.m. You grab your reflective belt and Airman's manual, sign in at the unit control center and wait for the phone call announcing an exercise has kicked off. This is a common scene at Scott Air Force Base and on military installations everywhere. While exercises are a normal part of our operations, they are also vital to our preparedness for disasters. Simply put, the more we train, the more prepared we become. The purpose of the installation exercise programs is to test our emergency response system, the command and communication system as well as the cooperation between Scott's emergency response units with local counties, state agencies and various other emergency responders, both locally and around the country. The exercise program includes a wide variety of training scenarios that include natural disaster response for tornadoes, massive winter storms and earthquakes as well as major accident and mass casualty response, antiterrorism and force protection and mobility capabilities, just to name a few. To emphasize the importance of exercises, the reality of a natural disaster striking Scott is very real. In 2007 alone there were 22 tornadoes reported in Illinois. To prepare for this kind of disaster, the 375th Airlift Wing's exercises evaluation team will conduct a tabletop tornado drill March 20. A different kind of exercise will take place Tuesday when the 375th Medical Group participates in a public health exercise with the St. Clair County Health Department. This will test the area's abilities to distribute medications from the Strategic National Stockpile in a closed point of distribution environment. There will be a simulated biological attack, and our medical personnel along with personnel from the local health department will have to band together to quickly supply medication to those in the area who are possibly infected Other exercises to expect this year include an antiterrorism force protection exercise and a mobility exercise where the 375th AW will join forces with the 126th Air Refueling Wing. Prior to the September airshow, there will also be a major accident and mass casualty response exercise. At Scott, we are fortunate to benefit from not only talented professionals from agencies across the base, but we also have access emergency responders in our local community who are among best trained and most dependable in the country. The bottom-line is we can never be too prepared for the unexpected. Whenever there's an exercise, please give 110 percent. Improving our responses and capabilities now could lead to saving lives in the future. We all play a vital role in being prepared for whatever comes our way. Thanks for all that Joint Total Force Scott personnel do to maintain readiness.