Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola’s Air Operations department and first-responders demonstrated emergency response capabilities during an exercise at the base’s Forrest Sherman Field Transient Line Oct. 16.

Fire & Emergency Services Gulf Coast (F&ESGC), NAS Pensacola police and NAS Pensacola Air Operations personnel were called to the scene of an imaginary disaster scenario involving a crash. 

The scenario was made realistic through the use of a simulator, the Mobile Aircraft Fire Training Device (MAFTD). Three Sailors and a mannequin stood in for victims.

At a signal from the event coordinators, the MAFTD burst into flames. As screams were heard from the role-playing Sailors, F&ESGC vehicles rolled in to extinguish the flames and treat the “wounded.”

Incident commander F&ESGC Assistant Fire Chief Chris Hatch was pleased with the overall response.

“We are required to do a functional exercise that incorporates everyone involved: fire, police, salvage, air operations … all the pieces that come together in an emergency,” he said. “It went very well. It’s always a learning process, and there’s always things we can do better, but overall it was a success.”

NAS Pensacola, referred to as the “Cradle of Naval Aviation,” is designed to support operational and training missions of tenant commands, including Naval Aviation Schools Command (NASC), the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT), Marine Aviation Training Support Groups (MATSG) 21 and 23 and is the headquarters for Naval Education and Training Command (NETC).  

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