Offutt tests Airmen, first responders in Major Accident Response Exercise Published Aug. 7, 2025 By Daniel Martinez 55th Wing Public Affairs OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- If a catastrophic incident occurred on Offutt, such as a plane crash, a quick emergency response could be the difference between life or death in addition to minimizing the carnage and destruction that lies in its wake. A Major Accident Response Exercise prepared Offutt’s Airmen, first responders, and civilians for such a scenario on July 30. A MARE, an event held annually, is designed to replicate a real-world emergency to test and train Airmen and first responders in a controlled environment. For Offutt, the simulated scenario consisted of a bird striking the windshield of an approaching aircraft causing it to crash on the flightline, and a fuel spill resulting from the landing gear hitting a fuel tank. The simulation also included aircraft debris falling onto hapless victims below. This scenario tested non-medical Airmen responding to the scene to help victims, and the timely response of emergency crews. “The ultimate goal would be to execute our requirement of having a full scale or functional exercise for a major accident response, to showcase the capabilities of the base in accordance with the installation emergency action plans, and to use all our resources and capabilities to effectively respond to a major accident that would happen on Offutt Air Force Base,” said Tech. Sgt. Cristina Sullivan, 55th Wing Inspector General wing lead exercise planner. The planning process for the IG usually takes at least six months ahead of the exercise. Before the planning begins, Col. Aaron Gray, 55th Wing Commander, is briefed on the concepts, objectives, scope and scale of the exercise to ensure he knows all the requirements that must be met. The IG then assembles with the Wing Inspection Team, who hold multiple planning conferences to develop a Master Scenario Events Listing and an itinerary. “[The MSEL] lets everyone know the sequence of events for each thing that will happen to cause the scenario,” Sullivan said. “It creates the realism, from the inception of the actual major accident to resolving it, cleanup procedures, and support procedures afterwards and everything in between.” Adding to the scenario was the burning aircraft on the runway in which firefighters, medical crews, mortuary affairs members, and bioenvironmental engineering teams responded to the crash site. In some cases, particularly with the simulated fuel tank spill, the IG will work with outside agencies such as the Defense Logistics Agency to ensure additional compliances are met and aligned with applicable laws and procedures that govern the cleanup process. In this case, fuel spill prevention, response, and cleanup must meet the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 which was enacted in response to the Exxon Valdez oil spill that occurred in 1989. “When [the aircraft] crashed into the fuel tank, the tank is supposed to release a lot of fuel, and this tank holds 2.3 million gallons of jet fuel,” said Tracy Taylor, DLA energies spill program and exercise program lead instructor. “So, in this case you’ve got injuries from people nearby from the debris, plus you got this fuel.” The simulated scenario provides an opportunity to gain experience and follow through with their recovery in extremely dangerous situations while remaining without risks. “The goal here today really is just to help everybody learn, make sure they know how to respond safely, that they use the right equipment, and that they make all the proper notifications,” Taylor said. “And again, I can’t say ‘safely’ enough. The big goal here is to prevent the fuel from impacting the environment or making people sick, but also to make sure it’s cleaned up to prevent any other damage in the future.” “There’s about 16 core components of objectives for a fuel spill,” Taylor added. “Now if they have shortfalls, we identify those lessons learned, and then they have a period of time, usually about six months or so to fix those deficiencies and put that other equipment back in place or fix their plans.” Multiple Airmen wore prosthetics to replicate bloody injuries to simulate victims of the crash and fuel spill site as an opportunity to help train response teams on how to help casualties. “I think it’s definitely important for security forces and fire to be able to respond to a tragic incident like this,” said Airman Keoni Taylor, 55th Security Forces Squadron defender. “It’s very important for us to get this exercise in because we are worried things like this can happen and we need to be able to know how to respond to it.”