Incirlik medics train with new decon field equipment

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Michael Jackson
  • Det. 7, Air Force News Agency
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey (AFPN) --  Air Force medics have a vital mission in the event of a chemical or biological attack as they must be able to decontaminate large groups of people quickly and effectively in the event of an attack.

Incirlik Air Base Airmen are prepared for such an attack and the base is one of only two Air Force locations in the world with a hardened underground decontamination chamber as the primary location of the decon mission.

However, if that facility was damaged or destroyed, decon operations would be carried out in the field using the in-place patient decontamination capability, or IPPDC.

The newest version of the IPPDC requires training, and the Air Force has contracted the TVI Corporation to show Airmen how to set it up, use it and take it down. Tom Bocek, a TVI consultant, is traveling to every Air Force base to accomplish this training. He came to Incirlik AB in May to train and drill the 39th Medical Group's decon team on this new equipment.

"The IPPDC is very light, very portable and takes about 12 people to operate," Mr. Bocek said. "On the average, it takes six to eight minutes to set up. The Air Force standard is 20 minutes. On their first day of training, Incirlik Airmen had it set up and operational in five minutes and 37 seconds, which is very good."

The IPPDC has shower facilities and three separate lines: one for walk-in male patients, one for walk-in female patients, and one for patients carried in on a litter. During the exercise, Incirlik AB Airmen donned their suits and simulated decontamination of one litter-patient and one female walk-in patient.

In addition to the time constraint, Airmen had to remove every trace of chemical compound from both patients, which they did the on the first run. 

There is no substitute for hands-on experience, said Master Sgt. Tim Allen, the 39th MDG decontamination team chief.

"No matter how much classroom preparation we have, the ability to come out and set the equipment up under a time constraint, especially if we have contaminated patients whose lives are in jeopardy, is very important," he said. "The faster we can get this equipment up and process our patients through, the faster we can decon the patients and save lives.

"We practice decon procedures in the hardened facility every month, and with the field equipment every 90 days," Sergeant Allen said.

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