MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- Airman and local civilian emergency management personnel participated in an emergency management exercise class at the 167th Airlift Wing, March 27-28.
The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation course provided the students with standardized processes to plan, conduct and evaluate emergency exercises.
Lt. Col. Paul Henry, director of inspections for the 167th AW, encouraged all Airmen involved in planning and executing the wing exercise program to attend.
HSEEP doctrine is not a U.S. Air Force requirement but it is being incorporated more into the exercise program, according to Henry.
“This increases our interoperability with our civilian counterparts,” said Lt. Col. James Fried-Studlo, 167th AW inspector general.
HSEEP provides common terminology for all agencies to use, aiding exercise planning and real-world disaster preparedness.
Students completed online training prior to the classroom lecture and group discussions led by members of the West Virginia National Guard’s 35th Civil Support Team.
The 35th CST supports civil authorities at domestic, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive incident sites. In addition to supporting state and national events they conduct numerous exercises annually.
This course was also offered to unit and community members last year. There are now about 40 Airmen HSEEP trained in the wing.