The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Pinckney (DDG 91) tested the readiness of its mass casualty response team during a simulated real-world scenario July 21.

Pinckney conducted the drill upon entering the 5th Fleet area of operations to gauge their mass casualty response abilities in preparation for their upcoming security operations and fleet tasks.

"The purpose of the drill is to prepare us in the event of a mass casualty," said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Kian Jno-Baptiste, from St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. "We test how well we coordinate getting supplies, notifying the right people for corrective action, moving bodies and preparing for evacuation."

Sailors treated injuries that included abdominal evisceration, shrapnel wounds, amputations, puncture wounds and head trauma. The injuries were made to appear life-like using makeup and props.

"We used our moulage kit for this drill," said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Joshua Locicero, from San Diego. "Some of the crew responding to the drill were shocked upon arriving because of how real the injuries looked. That's what we wanted. We wanted to simulate the awe of responding to actual casualties."

Mass casualty drills give the crew, especially first responders like the at-sea fire party and stretcher bears, training on how to respond in accordance with the ship's emergency response plan.

"The entire crew should know how to treat the 11 basic wounds outlined in their first aid training," said Locicero. "Stretcher bearers make up the bulk of the mass casualty response team, but every Sailor is responsible to their shipmate."

The drill concluded with a debrief highlighting both successes and ways to improve.

"Overall, this was one of the best drills the ship has run," said Jnobaptiste. "I think the kit helped provide some urgency, and the planning for the drill was exceptional. There are still things we can work on and areas where more training is a necessity, but there will always be room for improvement."

Jno-Baptiste added that he was proud of the way the crew responded and that he has confidence that the Sailors know the right things to do should the time ever come, and they have to spring into action.

Pinckney is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region.

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