Offutt Air Force Base hosted the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System as it conducted a National Disaster Medical System exercise Nov. 13 at Offutt Field House.

The Omaha area conducted this exercise to determine the preparedness to support an overseas conflict by moving military casualties into the civilian health care network. The exercise focused on receiving patients from an aircraft, triaging patients, and transporting them to local hospitals to receive inpatient care.

“This exercise presents an excellent opportunity to test our ability to receive patients from a natural disaster or overseas conflict,” said Jim Jenkins, VANWIHCS emergency manager. “The Omaha community continuously demonstrates tremendous collaboration and support which allows VANWHICS to meet the VA’s Fourth Mission.”

The VA’s first three missions are veteran care, research, and education.

“Our fourth mission is to serve as America’s backstop to the health care delivery system,” said Derrick Jaastad, executive director at Veterans Health Administration Emergency Management. “Whether that’s treating survivors of disaster or a large-scale combat operation treating uniformed service members and moving them into definitive care.”

Over 100 personnel from the 55th Medical Group worked hand in hand with the VA, Nebraska National Guard, Nebraska Air National Guard, Sarpy County, the State of Nebraska, Omaha Metropolitan Healthcare Coalition, American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, and the Nebraska Humane Society. 

“We learned about a lot of these different agencies, how they would interact,” said Lt. Col. Michelle Bray, 55th MDG Chief of Aerospace Medicine. “Being able to put names and faces together, practice, drill, and work together allowed us to find out our different capabilities, which is really a great experience.”

Partner support and cohesion between all of these agencies was critical to making the exercise succeed, Bray added.

“One of the really value-added portions of this exercise is finding out who these different partners are, the capabilities they have, and what they can bring to the team and some of the limitations,” said Bray. “We’re recognizing each other’s strengths and weaknesses and helping cover for each other. I think in this location, we’ve got great support systems, we’ve got great partnerships, and I think we’re set up for any mass casualty events or natural disasters or any sort of real-world scenario. I think this is a great opportunity for everybody.”

The NDMS exercise showed the importance of preparedness and coordination between agencies. As a key Federal Coordination Center, Omaha's and Offutt’s roles in this nationwide system are vital for the reception and care of casualties in times of crisis. The combined military and civilian partners efforts demonstrated a strong commitment to disaster readiness and the protection of American lives.