Misawa Coordinates Crash Response with Local Authorities

What happens when an Air Force aircraft crashes outside an overseas base? This is the very question that USAF officials at Misawa AB, Japan, tackled this week in cooperation with local Japanese emergency response officials from Misawa City and Amori Prefecture. They held their first-ever table-top exercise to outline how they would jointly respond to such a mishap. For the exercise, they simulated a disabled US helicopter crashing in Misawa City, mimicking an actual incident recently outside the US base at Okinawa, Japan. “It is important to respond quickly and efficiently in all emergency situations involving US Air Force personnel and property, both on and off base,” said Col. David Wiegand, Misawa’s 35th Mission Support Group commander. He added that the exercise created “a strong sense of teamwork and partnership with the Misawa community.” (Misawa report by 1st Lt. Cammie Quinn)