Team Whiteman to conduct MARE March 10 Published March 4, 2009 By Staff Sgt. Jason Barebo 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. -- To prepare Team Whiteman for the upcoming tornado season, Whiteman AFB will conduct a Major Accident Response Exercise March 10 from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m. The exercise will be conducted base-wide excluding Whiteman Elementary School and any personnel directly involved with flying operations. Knob Noster will conduct an annual tornado drill, to include Whiteman Elementary March 10 around 1 p.m. Base residents my hear Knob Noster's warning sirens during this time. During the MARE, exercise evaluation team members will observe all base personnel, including dependants and civilians to ensure the proper steps are taken to prepare for a tornado. EET members will be in various locations throughout the base during the exercise to observe the reactions of people when the Tornado Watch and Warning are issued as well as when the "All Clear" is given, said Lt. Col. Joseph Hall, 509th Bomb Wing Plans. The Whiteman Command Post will broadcast a Tornado Watch using land mobile radio to several base agencies. Soon after they will announce a Tornado Warning followed by a three- to five-minute steady tone A Tornado Watch is declared when a tornado and other severe weather is possible. A watch can last up to six hours and cover an area up to 40,000 square miles. When a Tornado Watch is issued, all personnel on base should take the following steps: · Notify work center that a tornado watch has been issued. · Close all windows, curtains and blinds and lock all doors. · Tie down any equipment or move equipment inside if possible. · Monitor local radio or television stations for situation updates. · Ensure personnel know the best location to take cover in their current facility. · Be prepared to take shelter if a Tornado Warning is issued. A Tornado Warning is declared when a tornado has been detected in the area. During a Tornado Warning, all personnel on base should notify others and move to designated shelter areas immediately and remain sheltered until "All Clear" has been announced. The safest areas are interior hallways or rooms on the lowest floor of the building away from any windows. People should avoid structures with large, free-span roofs such as hangars and warehouses. Following the "All Clear" announcement, the exercise will become more localized, Colonel Hall said. In coorination with the Army Corps of Engineers, "we will be demolishing one building to provide a unque training platform," said Colonel Hall. "This building, which has already been slated for a demolition, will offer our first responders an exceptional, real-world training environment that will stress their skills." Colonel Hall also said there will be more simulated victims in various locations around the base. "The mass casualty event will provide a unique opportunity for emergency responders," said David Fisher, 509th Civil Engineer Fire Department assistant training chief. "The ability to add this type of realism to the scenario will give everyone involved good opportunities to practice their search-and-rescue skills and better prepare them for a real-world situation." "In addition to on-base emergency responders, we will have assistance from the Warrensburg and Sedalia fire departments as well as the Johnson County Ambulance District during the recovery phase of the exercise," said David Kehoe, Whiteman AFB emergency manager "We will even have the emergency managers from Johnson and Pettis counties involved just as if this were an actual tornado." "The goal is to educate and train the whole base, including those living in base housing, what to do when the sirens go off," Colonel Hall said. A sample of a three-to-five minute steady tone can be heard here.