thedrifter
06-08-08, 07:39 AM
Displays at air show illustrate how military deals with emergencies
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June 6, 2008 - 9:39PM
Sue Book
Sun Journal
CHERRY POINT - The reality of what Marines do was not ignored at the festive 2008 air show that kept visitors here mostly looking up on Friday.
Two military-green heavy trucks with big red crosses marked tents with a mock field hospital.
Four 2nd Medical Battalion members of Charlie Company from Camp Lejeune manned the "forward resuscitation surgical site," or operating room, in one of two tents on the tarmac.
They stood with instruments over a mannequin as they simulated an effort to repair his war wounds.
"The receiving tent is on the other side of the operating room," said HM2 Mathew Rosenberg of Tampa, Fla., who worked with HM3 Joan Santamaria and HM3 Jessica Harmon of Lynchburg, Tenn., to show the modern medical work that can be done in the field.
Nearby is a display of aircrew survival equipment, laid out item by item next to another mannequin dressed out in flight gear. Just up the tarmac, visitors get a first hand view of the F-35 joint strike fighter.
If it or any military aircraft should crash near here, the Cherry Point Crash Fire and Rescue Squad would be there.
They are also at the show with their yellow, glow-in-the-dark truck to tell visitors about their equipment and how well-prepared they are to do the job.
"It's a normal fire truck but it can be driven while it pumps water," said Sgt. Christopher Hutchinson.
The gear the crash and fire team wears weighs about 70 pounds including the extinguisher they wear on their back, said Pfc. Aixa Alverez.
"We are required to know the ins and outs of every aircraft that comes to Cherry Point," he said. "The typical fire in an aircraft is at least 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit."
Trained in structure fire, hazardous materials and confined space rescue, the 73-member team keeps a truck on the tarmac in two-hour shifts around the clock, Hutchinson said. They train more than 30 hours a month in class in addition to regular to field operations on real fires.
There were no real fires for the team on Friday but Hutchinson said they did fight heat.
"It was 105 degrees on the tarmac with ambient heat making it 120 degrees in some spots," he said.
Ellie
Comments 0 | Recommend 0
June 6, 2008 - 9:39PM
Sue Book
Sun Journal
CHERRY POINT - The reality of what Marines do was not ignored at the festive 2008 air show that kept visitors here mostly looking up on Friday.
Two military-green heavy trucks with big red crosses marked tents with a mock field hospital.
Four 2nd Medical Battalion members of Charlie Company from Camp Lejeune manned the "forward resuscitation surgical site," or operating room, in one of two tents on the tarmac.
They stood with instruments over a mannequin as they simulated an effort to repair his war wounds.
"The receiving tent is on the other side of the operating room," said HM2 Mathew Rosenberg of Tampa, Fla., who worked with HM3 Joan Santamaria and HM3 Jessica Harmon of Lynchburg, Tenn., to show the modern medical work that can be done in the field.
Nearby is a display of aircrew survival equipment, laid out item by item next to another mannequin dressed out in flight gear. Just up the tarmac, visitors get a first hand view of the F-35 joint strike fighter.
If it or any military aircraft should crash near here, the Cherry Point Crash Fire and Rescue Squad would be there.
They are also at the show with their yellow, glow-in-the-dark truck to tell visitors about their equipment and how well-prepared they are to do the job.
"It's a normal fire truck but it can be driven while it pumps water," said Sgt. Christopher Hutchinson.
The gear the crash and fire team wears weighs about 70 pounds including the extinguisher they wear on their back, said Pfc. Aixa Alverez.
"We are required to know the ins and outs of every aircraft that comes to Cherry Point," he said. "The typical fire in an aircraft is at least 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit."
Trained in structure fire, hazardous materials and confined space rescue, the 73-member team keeps a truck on the tarmac in two-hour shifts around the clock, Hutchinson said. They train more than 30 hours a month in class in addition to regular to field operations on real fires.
There were no real fires for the team on Friday but Hutchinson said they did fight heat.
"It was 105 degrees on the tarmac with ambient heat making it 120 degrees in some spots," he said.
Ellie