Is it?

By Gerald Voigt

Word around the base was that there was going to be a Disaster Preparedness exercise on Wednesday. Every unit on base was making sure all their ducks were lined up, “t’s” crossed and “i’s” dotted. The Wing Commander had also deemed it a day for the Wing’s aircraft to stand down. This gave the units a chance to do some catch up, training and include them in the “exercise” without real world operations exempting them from participation. It also had underlying safety reasons too.

Late Tuesday afternoon a truck arrived at the back gate. It was expected, a shipment of munitions to be delivered to the Weapons Storage Area (WSA). It arrived via commercial contractor from the munitions manufacturer. However this shipment wasn’t exactly what it appeared to be on the surface. Several key personnel were “in the loop” as to its specific purpose. A handful of personnel were on hand to accept the vehicle and its contents, but instead of taking it to the WSA for storage it was parked on a designated portion of a taxiway called the “Hot Pad.”

The hot pad is where aircraft or vehicles were parked and guarded that contained explosives or extremely sensitive materials while they waited to be processed. Nothing too unusual about that, but it was a rare occurrence here. Security personnel were briefed that no one was to enter the airfield’s runway and taxiway area…no one…this was Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

Yet, during the early morning hours of Wednesday morning, someone did enter. A team of Special Forces used this as their own “training” exercise. To plant demolition charges on a base to destroy the runway and key taxiways. However these demolition charges being taken from the van on the hot pad were nothing more than pyrotechnical special effects. Fireworks of sorts that once triggered would yield large explosions, smoke and fireballs into the sky.

The team worked quickly and departed the area only being seen by those Security Policemen “in the loop” who were guarding the van on the hot pad. By the time the sun rose, everything looked just as it did the day before. By eight, the van departed the base, empty.

Mid morning the daily routine was in full swing, with the exception of the daily flying operations. The aircraft units were doing a bit of house keeping and training, readying themselves for the Disaster Preparedness exercise. By mid afternoon everyone thought the exercise was going to be cancelled. It was getting to be the time of day when folks started to end their work day and go home. Everyone was hoping to end their day and escape the exercise at 3:45 PM.

At exactly 3:25 PM a flight of six RAF Tornado fighter bombers flying at tree top level flew across the base very fast. So fast was their arrival it was a total surprise to everyone when they finally were heard overhead. Each jet took a slightly different path across the base. As they passed, the pyrotechnics did exactly what they were designed to do. The explosions, flame and smoke drew everyone’s attention towards them. The tower controllers never knew of or saw them approaching, neither did the personnel working around aircraft parked on the ramp. When the explosions rocked, they didn’t know whether to dive for cover or crap their pants, some did both!

The RAF provided this “service” as part a mission scenario for a multinational bombing competition being held at a distant base. For them it was nothing more than a routine training mission.

The jets passed over the main base, climbing slowly and disappeared as fast as they had appeared. Several other smaller explosions erupted throughout the base as well. Smoke rose from their locations…switchboards and the radio nets were jammed with calls. No one could get through to anyone, it was chaos. Panic was abundant!

The Special Forces team was responsible for the “destruction” on the main base. They entered through the main gate and nonchalantly went about their business placing their “bombs” in broad daylight. No one took notice, all anyone was watching was the time ticking by, hoping to get home before the exercise would kick off.

Well it did kickoff with a BANG! Several to be specific!

As the base sirens wailed, calls from the Base Command Post to civil agencies in the area were placed informing them that this was the beginning of the scheduled exercise. The planned mutual aide responses should begin. This exercise was now in full swing and the base Public Affairs would be issuing statements to the media immediately.

Needless to say there was a sense of panic throughout the base and the neighboring community. It took several hours to get a sense of order and calm restored throughout the base. Slowly, personnel started to remember their training, the training they though boring and useless. Now they understood how important it was.

The exercise terminated ten hours later, everyone still riding a wave of adrenaline that was sparked off at the onset of the exercise from the explosions that rocked the base. For many it would mean a restless night of little or no sleep.

Later that morning in the Wing Command Post, the base’s Battle Staff and other key personnel which also included the Special Forces team Commander and his executive officer sat down for a long discussion.

The briefing wasn’t pretty. Just about everyone on the base had failed in some area. All of the little failures added together painted a very dismal picture.

At noon, the base wide debrief and critique was held at the Base Theater. Pre-selected representatives from each unit and community organizations were present. They started from the end of the exercise and played it backwards. Once they got to the portion of the debrief that was applicable only to the military a short recess was called so the civilian guest could be excused politely. Once they were gone the doors were sealed and the theater was called to attention. The briefing was now deemed “Classified.”

The Special Forces commander now took the podium. He quickly outlined “their” mission and the security deficits of the base and its personnel. The really demoralizing part of the brief came when he described the planting of a 5 gallon container, painted red with the words TNT painted across it, with wires trailing off into the bushes, set next to a cigarette butt can in front of the Base Personnel Office. No one noticed or even called any attention to it until it detonated!

Each “bomb” placed by the Special Forces team and was closely monitored by a member of the team until detonated. Had anyone raised suspicion of any of the planted devises, the whole exercise would have had a different outcome. Base personnel had been exposed to the “bombs” for more than five hours before the exercise started. But not one person did…until they all went BANG!

The debriefing lasted for more than six hours in duration. No one and I mean no one was exempt from having their ass chewed out. Everyone left tired, dazed and wondering what would have happened if this really did occur.

This story is one of fiction, or is it? I used pieces of several exercises I’ve been involved in to create this story. What it does illustrate is that being complacent can have lethal consequences. Be observant and when in doubt…take the appropriate measures to report your suspicions.

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