An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

SABC integral to enhanced readiness

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Benjamin Sutton
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Throughout the readiness exercise Vigilant Ace 16, members are enhancing their training requirements through training and testing.

Self-Aid Buddy Care is a training all members must be capable of completing as effectively responding to any potential life-threatening scenario is a vital tool in ensuring our readiness during operations.

Members of the material management flight had an opportunity to test these SABC skills during a simulated accident.

"During the exercise inject, we simulated that an individual was run over by a forklift inside the warehouse," said Staff Sgt. Erica Russell, 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron assistant NCO in charge of central storage. "We made sure to keep her still and ensure she remained calm while we performed the SABC. Her mock injuries received proper care before the medical personnel arrived."

Realistic training is vital to ensuring members are ready at a moment's notice to respond to any situation.

"A member going into shock is always a worry for the first-responders so we tried to keep her  calm and without causing further injury, raise limbs to promote blood-flow," said Russell. "Even during normal day-to-day operations, being able to ensure proper safety procedures helps us stay mission-ready."

Knowing these different types of training tools assists Airmen in being prepared for any type of situation.

"It was good to know that my fellow wingmen came to help me as quickly as they did," said Senior Airman Symphonie Grier, 51st LRS hazardous materials journeyman.
"Being injured can seriously affect our ability to perform our wartime mission. They had a sense of urgency and were determined to help me as the exercise inject victim."
Successfully completing scenarios like the SABC inject, go a long way to improving efforts to the quality of the exercise.

"At any time, no matter what your job is, there can be a situation requiring proper employment of Self-Aid Buddy Care," said Russell. "We must ensure we are prepared and ready to assist our fellow wingmen whenever needed. This is all about readiness, we need to ensure we are ready to fight tonight."