Blood, guts and moulage

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kristin Ruleau
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) --  Two dental squadron technicians moulaged about 20 people for Exercise Saber Crown 08-06 April 22. Tech. Sgt. Stephen Dereis and Senior Airman Bridgit Borseth, from the 52nd Dental Squadron, took a break from their normal duties of dealing with dirty teeth and instead used their skills for something even dirtier.

Most of the people who were moulaged were finished in about 10 minutes, according to Sergeant Dereis; however, a couple of the goriest make-up jobs took about 30 minutes each. More serious "wounds" included lacerations, burns, contusions, nerve and chemical agent injuries, fractures, war and accident-related injuries.

Although this was Airman Borseth's first time applying moulage, Sergeant Dereis said he has been doing it for 10 years. While special effects add realism to any crisis exercise, according to the duo, there is no formal training. Most of their training is online research as well as on the job. "Watch and learn," Sergeant Dereis said.

The wing's plans section worked with various base agencies so moulage "victims" would be available. The "victims" were used for the following training and training scenarios: Self-Aid and Buddy Care, mortar incidents, bomb threats, suicide bombers, Ability-to-Survive-and-Operate situations, rocket-propelled grenade events, Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear and Explosive incidents, suspicious packages, car bombs and Scud missile exercises. Exercise Saber Crown 08-06 is April 22-24.

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