Team Vance exercises, trains for emergencies

Vance Air Force Base, Okla. -- People must train like they are expected to perform during tasking times, is what Air Force members are told from their first day. Team Vance is doing it no differently, Tuesday the base practiced procedures to cope with the worst of tragedies, the loss of an aircraft and members of the base team.
This exercise was the first of several to be used for training. The exercise was announced to the base prior to it taking place. With Vance participants being forewarned, they were encouraged to use it as training more than an evaluation.
"Each exercise should be approached from a training point of view," said Lt Col Robert Reese, chief of wing plans, in a recent Airscoop article. "Although each exercise should be approached from a training perspective, these exercises will not be graded and therefore will not count towards our annual exercise requirements. They will provide commanders with an opportunity to fine-tune their processes."
The exercise Tuesday was setup to look like a T-37 crashed into a security forces vehicle on patrol.
"This training exercise provided a great opportunity to kick off this year's exercise schedule," Colonel Reece said in his article. "I encourage all to approach these exercises with a positive mindset. If we are going to find deficiencies in our contingency plans, it is far better to find them during an exercise instead of during an actual contingency response."
The exercise served its purpose.
"The exercise was a valuable learning experience," said Capt
Kari Lulay, Exercise Evaluation Team chief. "Several base units discovered maps and checklist discrepancies, which once fixed will aid the base in future responses."