Colombia hosts multi-nation search and rescue exercise
Eleven nations recently took part in a multilateral search and rescue exercise hosted by Colombia from 3-14 of September.
Eleven nations recently took part in a multilateral search and rescue exercise hosted by Colombia from 3-14 of September.
Angel de los Andes allowed the 11 partners to practise responding to realistic simulations of search and rescue situations, aeromedical evacuation, casualty evacuation and air drop operations.
Aircraft from Columbia, Brazil and the US participated in the exercises.
“This was an excellent exercise,” said US Air Force Lt Col. Richard Clark, 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron mission commander. “This is the second time the Colombian Air Force has hosted this exercise. The first one only involved Colombian aircraft. This year, aircraft from Colombia, the US, Peru and Brazil, participated in the exercise. Colombia is a regional leader and a strong partner with the US. This exercise provided an excellent training ground for the region.”
Aeromedical evacuation teams responded to a mass casualty situation simulation during an earthquake scenario and a downed aircraft scenario. Both focussed on the initial triage of patients as well as the transfer operations between helicopters and C-17 and C-130 aircraft. The US Air Force transported a total of around 500 passengers throughout the exercise from all partner nations.
The second week of Angel de los Andes saw the personnel focussed on combat search and rescue. Scenarios included a simulated helicopter crash over water and a simulation to find two downed pilots behind enemy lines.
“This exercise was very important for all the participants involved,” said Colombian Air Force Lt. Col. Luis Díaz, exercise task force commander. “This was a perfect opportunity for us to share knowledge, experiences and techniques for doing search and rescue during disaster relief and combat search and rescue a multinational environment.”