ORI wraps up, highlights positives, lessons learned

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  RAF Mildenhall held its latest operational readiness inspection Sept. 9 to 13 with base members participating in a variety of exercise scenarios throughout the week.

There were simulated fire incidents at two separate facilities, one at the post office and the other at a maintenance facility. Additionally, a sexual assault prevention and response exercise tested the initial response abilities of the SARC office.

One day during the ORI week was spent with subject matter experts - including the 100th Civil Engineer Squadron Water and Fuels Systems Maintenance flight and the 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Manangement flight - receiving training on response and recovery on a fuel-spill incident. The contractor providing the training was a former coast guard officer with approximately 30 years of hazardous materials experience. The inspection ended with a response to a simulated fuel spill and command and control network outage.

"We're always busy, and the planning starts to condense prior to the inspection," said Staff Sgt. David Rodriguez, 100th Air Refueling Wing Inspector General Inspections NCO in charge of wing readiness, from Los Angeles, Calif. "We spend a lot of time making sure everything is good to go."

Planning started at least three months in advance of the ORI.

"There are always lots of changes and last minute moving of pieces," said Capt. Laura Piranio, 100th ARW Inspector General Inspections chief of wing exercises from Moore, Oklahoma. "We're planning all the way up until the final day."

The objective of the inspection is to bring to light weaknesses that can then be improved upon, ensuring RAF Mildenhall is on top of its game should a real-world situation occur.

"We had a wing recall the week before and there were many areas we had to fix, so the ORI gave us a chance to redeem ourselves," Piranio said. "The inspection went a lot better because of that."

There were also many positives from the inspection.

"(The 100th CES) did really well, as did the (emergency operations center) during the fuel spill exercise," Rodriguez said. "Some of the NCOs from (100th CES) Water and Fuels Systems Maintenance did really well - Tech. Sgt. Eric Wise actually built the prop which was used to test the wing. It simulated a breaking flange which created a mock fuel spill."

The overall sense of urgency was also good all around, especially during the structural fires, Piranio said.

"As far as the deployment side goes, we deploy quite a bit and do well when it's real world. But sometimes, when it comes to exercises, we don't always practice like we play. We need to treat exercises as if they are real-world situations and act accordingly," Piranio said.

The main goal of the inspection process is to stress the importance of being prepared.

"The best advice we can give to individuals is to know and understand your local emergency response procedures, such as shelter in place, lock-down, recall and accountability, and evacuation procedures. These are actions that could save your life one day, and the time to refine these procedures should not be in the midst of a real-world emergency," Rodriguez said.