Aviano Airmen put skills to test

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Justin Goodrich
  • Det. 8, Air Force News Agency
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy (AFNEWS) --  A NATO Tactical Evaluation kicked off here recently to inspect Aviano Air Base's ability to respond to crisis. 

As part of the TACEVAL the evaluation team tested security forces Airmen with a surprise mob of demonstrators protesting the U.S. military. During the scenario, the demonstrators became more and more restless. It was essential, that the Airmen contain and control the situation.

"The scenario is usually very difficult for the unit with a lot of incidents, one after another, in a very short period of time. The meaning of this is we want to see how all the units' personnel will act in a real time situation," said Capt. Panousis Dimitris, a Greek air force NATO Inspector. 

In another scenario, a simulated bomb detonates and the road is filled with role-playing injured and deceased civilians. It is the Airmen's job to quickly provide first aid.

"These skills are very important during war time so they'll have to practice a lot during peace time and during exercises," said Captain Dimitris, a six year veteran in the Greek military.

It was a high-speed and stressful situation requiring everyone involved to remain calm and collected. "They had some difficulties, but the general response was very good," Captain Dimitris said.

This exercise was another opportunity for Airmen to show vigilance against uncertain enemies. 

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