Weapon accident/incident exercise tests interagency coordination

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Daryl Knee
  • 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  A national exercise, which involves many different emergency services, takes place here June 22 through 24. 

The nuclear weapons accident/incident exercise tests the ability to evaluate and improve the integration of the Department of Defense emergency response with federal, state and local response agencies. 

Initial notification, procedures, command and control, and the interaction between the local governments and the base will also be observed. 

NUWAIX09 is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff-directed, U.S. Northern Command-executed, Defense Threat Reduction Agency-sponsored test designed to train the 90th Missile Wing initial response force and the Air Force Space Command's response task force in nuclear weapon command and control, police, homeland defense, homeland security and defense support to civil authorities missions. 

All in all, there will be about 1,000 more people at Warren during the extent of this exercise. 

"With a contingent of this size deploying into the area, we can expect some major traffic delays at the gates and Old Glory Road," said Capt. Kevin Avery, 90th Logistics Readiness Squadron. "Hundreds of emergency response, communications and rental vehicles will be staged at Bldg. 332 and behind the Trail's End Club and Shopette. 

"In addition, 15th Cavalry Avenue will be closed to all but exercise traffic and mission-essential personnel," he said. "We designed the traffic and parking plan to have as little impact to the base population as possible, but with construction at the gates, delays are inevitable." 

NUWAIX will execute for about 72 continuous hours of play. Since a normal response to a nuclear weapon accident would take weeks, possibly months, to complete, the time schedule has been accelerated in some parts to maximize the training benefit and ensure all training objectives are met in the given time allotted for the event. 

To provide realistic training value, interagency partners include the FBI, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VIII as well as the Wyoming and the Cheyenne local law enforcement community. 

Warren members who work in the buildings in the affected area on 15th Cavalry Road will still have access to their buildings, Captain Avery said. However, how they access their facility and where they park may have changed. All facility managers know the plan and have informed their personnel where to park. 

To house and ready all players and controllers for the NUWAIX, the east parking lot of the Trail's End Club is reserved for the forward staging area and exercise-only traffic. Club and Shopette patrons may use the west parking lot. However, access has been restricted past the intersection of Shreiver Road and Randall Avenue. The club will still serve lunch and have afternoon activities. 

"Also, we can expect some loud noises during the start of the exercises," Captain Avery said, "but for the most part, noise in and around the Trail's End Club, Shopette, Uniform - 01 and buildings 332 and 367 will be limited to generators, materiel handling equipment and buses. Emergency vehicles will not sound their alarms unless responding to a real emergency." 

Although the exercise doesn't begin until June 22, some agencies will arrive at Warren as soon as Thursday.