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Medics lend hand in Topoff 4 exercise

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sonya Padilla
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
When help was needed at the Guam Memorial Hospital and Naval Hospital, Airmen from the 36th Medical Group were there to lend a helping hand during this week's Topoff 4 exercise.

The 36th Medical Group provided 16 doctors, nurses, medical technicians and dentists to assist and process patients at Naval Hospital, according to Lt. Col. Robin Schultze, 36th Medical Operations Squadron commander.

"When we went into exercise [Force Protection Condition] Delta, the 36th Security Forces Squadron escorted medical personnel to Naval Hospital to ensure people leaving Andersen had a safe route for the movement," Colonel Schultze said.

Additionally, 18 decontamination suits were delivered and a simulated 12-person mobile field surgical team from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, went to Guam Memorial Hospital after civil authorities made the request.

"They carry just about everything that's needed in a surgical backpack," she said. 

Topoff 4 is a Congressionally mandated, terrorism preparedness exercise, involving top officials at every level of government, as well as representatives from the international community and private sector. 

"This exercise was very beneficial to us because for about a year now, we've been in agreement with Naval Hospital to help each other out with instances like this," Colonel Schultze said. "We have a good working relationship with Navy so this was good practice for us."

Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security, Topoff 4 is the fourth exercise in the Topoff series. Each Topoff 4 exercise involves a two-year cycle of seminars, planning events and exercises, which culminates in a full-scale assessment of the nation's capacity to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction. 

Topoff 4 uses a series of exercise activities of increasing complexity, and simulates a terrorist WMD campaign with coordinated Radiological Dispersal Device or dirty bomb attacks in the states of Arizona and Oregon, and the U.S. Territory of Guam.