Fort Campbell, KY. – What would happen if a tornado struck Fort Campbell? That was the questions being answered Tuesday, June 2 as a full-scale weather related emergency response training exercise took place on post.
The exercise began with a simulated F-3 tornado striking the area near Campbell Army Airfield. The scenario included sever damage to several buildings, fires and more than 40 casualties involving both soldiers and civilians.
Role-players depicted real-life casualties that were at ground-zero when the tornado hit. The soldiers and civilians in the scenario gave on-post agencies the chance to train and become better prepared to support soldiers, families and civilians in an emergency.
“What we’re looking at, we’re looking at the ability to manage a scene with an unmanageable amount of injuries. It’s certainly a realistic event, one that has happened in this part of Tennessee and Kentucky before,” said Kevin Falsetto, Deputy Fire Chief of the Fort Campbell Fire Department.
In years past the focus has been on antiterrorism and active shooter scenarios, but this year it has shifted to natural disasters, mainly a tornado touchdown. In 2014, Kentucky was ranked 14th and Tennessee 20th in the nation for tornadoes, making them a serious natural hazard for Fort Campbell.
Danny Greene, Fort Campbell’s Installation Emergency Planner talked about the exercise. It’s important for public safety to be prepared to take care of any hazard, manmade or natural that may occur on the installation,” said Greene.
Close to a dozen on-post agencies participated in the training. Other civilian emergency agencies in Montgomery and Christian County also took part in the exercise as well as the American Red Cross. Fort Campbell’s fire and emergency services have mutual aid agreements with every jurisdiction that touches the installation.