While on Air Force Reserve Duty, Region 5/6 Director, MSgt. Bill Pook, participated
in a WMD drill with Las Vegas emergency responders. The drill was part of the
nationwide Domestic Preparedness program which also includes Omaha.
In the Las Vegas drill, terrorists exploded a backpack at a political rally. The explosion spread deadly VX nerve agent on people at the rally. People identified as having
direct skin contact with the VX had minutes to live while off-gas from the agent caused others to have severe breathing problems.
First responders to the scene failed to realize a chemical terrorist agent was used. Several firefighters and law enforcement were red-tagged. Other Las Vegas
responders, realizing the nature of the event, established a hot-zone and emergency decon procedures. ICS was in-place quickly.
Nearly 400 victims had to be accounted for.
The drill went well with several lessons learned. Better communication and assessment were noted. But ICS was confirmed as an effective management tool.
