Community, military train to aid in disaster

  • Published
  • By Airman Emerald Ralston
  • 341st Space Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  Members of Team Malmstrom and the Great Falls community participated in a three day Community Emergency Response Team course Nov. 15 through 17.

There were 26 individuals in training, 16 of which hail from Malmstrom.

CERT training educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.

"One of the benefits of this course is participants become better able to respond during emergency situations," said Master Sgt. Eugene Miller, 341st Missile Security Forces Squadron, who is now also a CERT instructor after taking the course in May. "This course helps us become better members of the community by being involved and educated. Also, it reinforces military training for those of us who are in the Air Force."

"This has been a growing program with the military," said Jim Adkins, CERT president. "The first class had one or two military members and the second class had 10. There are 16 in this class so it's growing quite rapidly with the service."

The first assignment given to the class was a team-building exercise in which attendees were broken into small groups and given materials to build a tower. This was to introduce the participants to working with people they had never met before, something CERT members will face in real-world situations.

Eighteen hours of classroom and practical training culminated in a two hour disaster scenario to put the class's training to use. An earthquake scenario was simulated and many volunteers were given an assigned injury to act out for the CERT personnel to asses and treat.

While individuals can go through the course simply for enrichment of previous training, they also have the option of becoming a CERT member. Those who become members are issued a response team kit to include a reflector vest, hard hat, tool kit, wrenches, back pack, first aid kid, duct tape, rubber gloves, goggles, emergency blanket, batteries and a flashlight. Those who join will be called upon to help throughout the community.

We helped out at the State Fair manning the first aid booth," Sergeant Miller said. "We've also helped at flu clinics and things like that."

"I took this training because I want to be a bigger part of the community," said Senior Airman Nick Butler, 741st Missile Security Forces Squadron. "The training is helpful all around. It creates better ties with the community and this is training you can take back to the office. The more training the better."