In times of heightened tensions and uncertainty, being prepared is critical to ensuring the success of a mission. This is especially true for a deployed aircraft carrier like USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77).

GHWB Sailors know that while underway, emergency situations can happen and high-velocity training needs to be given in order to be prepared for the unexpected.

To ensure a level of proficient mission readiness, GHWB Sailors conducted a mass casualty drill April 20. "There are a lot of moving parts in a mass casualty drill," said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Brandon Day. "Not only is GHWB's medical department being trained and assessed, but the rest of the ship is getting evaluated on how quickly they mobilize and respond."

A mass casualty is any instance in which there are five or more casualties or when there any combination of casualties that overwhelms the capacity of GHWB's medical department.

"If something serious happens that is overwhelming enough that medical can't handle alone, they will need a strong support structure that the crew can provide," said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Gabriel Macias. "That's why we have these drills; to hone the response time and knowledge that Sailors will need to respond to an actual event."

More than 25 Sailors were recruited to role-play as victims scattered throughout the hangar bay in order to make the drill more realistic.

Medical personnel triaged the injured in one of the four casualty levels and were then carried over to one of four stations by stretcher bearers.

"The triage tags are to let people know the level of attention a casualty needs," said Macias. "For example, a red casualty requires immediate attention and the victim will not survive if they are not seen right away."

The main focus of any drills aboard GHWB is to test the readiness of the crew and make sure they are prepared for unexpected situations, as was the case when a repair party had to respond immediately to an actual incident during the mass casualty drill.

"Normally, we would fill a role during a mass casualty drill, but this time we were told we wouldn't be participating in this one," said Damage Control Fireman Tiffany Valencia. "When we heard the bells go off, at first, I thought it was part of the drill until the words 'actual casualty, white smoke' sounded off on the 1MC. I was getting ready to rest when I had to run to answer the call."

While the damage control teams weren't scheduled to participate in the drill, their quick response demonstrated the training Sailors receive to deal with emergencies work and ensures they can continue to carry out operational missions once it's resolved.

"As it turned out, it was only steam from one of the catapults," said Valencia as she chuckled. "Still, we are trained to respond at a moment's notice, so this was just a surprise training session. It keeps us on our toes."

Scenarios like the one that played out during the drill are not unheard of and highlight the importance of training Sailors so they can be ready to act when something happens, even if it ends up being a false alarm.

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