Augmentees search and recover

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Tiffany Colburn
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  Members of the 39th Air Base Wing's Search and Recovery Team honed their skills with some in house training May 31 at Arkadas Park.

"The training helps the individual know what to expect and what needs to be done if there was a real world search and recovery event," said Staff Sgt. Liam Gannon, 39th Services Squadron non-commissioned officer in charge of readiness. "It is much easier to get prepared when you are there and see first hand."

The scenario for the training was a plane crash and the augmeentees, were to find the debris that was scattered during the accident.

Augmeentees lined up to search the area and mark the items found much like what you would see during a Foreign Object Damage walk.

"You need to do a very thorough sweep of the area you are assigned to. You want to recover as much as you can to facilitate further required actions like safety-related investigations," said Sergeant Gannon.

Items are marked with orange flags and numbers identifying what order they were found and in to what category they fit.

"I like the idea of using tag, flag, and bag because three levels of identification will allow for the best possible accounting of objects without being considered overkill," said Airman 1st Class Gregory Cain, 39th Communications Squadron network infrastructure systems.

The training helped Airmen become more confident with their abilities in preparation for being called upon as an augmentee.

"Some of the things that I had forgotten since basic training were refreshed which makes me feel more confident in performing actions if called out," said Airman Cain.

"If I was contacted to augment the search and recovery team, I am 100 percent confident I could get the job done," said Tech. Sgt. Richard Martin, 39th Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Flight training manager. "Had I not received this training, I would not be fully prepared to deal with the aftermath of a mass casualty event."