It was a night MARE

Staff Sgt. Craig Eveland, 436th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler commands MWD Ramos to search a cubicle for simulated dead or injured victims during a simulated active shooter scene Oct. 20, 2015, on Dover Air Force Base, Del. Eveland and MWD Ramos, along with law officers from the Dover Police Department, Dover, Del.; the Delaware State Police, Troop 3, Camden, Del.; initiated a sweep of the building's first and second floors (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

It was a night MARE

Staff Sgt. Christopher Walker, 436th Security Forces Squadron response force leader, peeks around a cubicle wall during a simulated active shooter scene Oct. 20, 2015, in building 639 on Dover Air Force Base, Del. Walker, along with law officers from the Dover Police Department, Dover, Del.; the Delaware State Police, Troop 3, Camden, Del.; and 436th SFS personnel, initiated a sweep of the building's first and second floors and warehouse areas. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

It was a night MARE

Staff Sgt. Craig Eveland, 436th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler and MWD Ramos locate a simulated active shooter victim during a major accident response exercise Oct. 20, 2015, on Dover Air Force Base, Del. Eveland, MWD Ramos and other 436th SFS response force personnel searched Contracting Squadron offices for personnel hiding, possible hostages, simulated dead and injured, as well as other potential active shooters located in building 639. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

It was a night MARE

Sgt. Bruce Harris, Delaware State Police, Troop 3, Camden, Del., stands guard during a simulated active shooter scene as part of the major accident response exercise Oct. 20, 2015, on Dover Air Force Base, Del. During the 3-day-long MARE, military and civilian first responders dealt with numerous scenarios that tested their response time, skills and inter-agency teamwork. Harris, a field training officer with the DSP, was part of a five-member team that swept the first and second floors of the north end of building 639. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

It was a night MARE

Trooper First Class David Castillo, Delaware State Police, Troop 3, left; Master Cpl. Michael Wisniewski, Dover Police Department, Dover, Del., second from left; Trooper Christine Armstrong, DSP, Troop 3, second from right; and Sgt. Bruce Harris, DSP, Troop 3, right, sweep the warehouse section of building 639 during a simulated active shooter exercise Oct. 20, 2015, on Dover Air Force Base, Del. Staff Sgt. Craig Eveland, 436th Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler and MWD Ramos kept watch to the rear of the sweep team while searching for hostages and simulated dead or injured victims. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

It was a night MARE

Staff Sgts. Juan Davila, kneeling left, and Allen Dwyer, kneeling right, both 436th Medical Operations Squadron aerospace medical technicians, assess the condition of a simulated leg wound victim of the active shooter scene on the first day of a major accident response exercise Oct. 20, 2015, on Dover Air Force Base, Del. The simulated active shooter used a .38 caliber pistol loaded with blank rounds to simulate killing five and injuring three Team Dover members before being neutralized by 436th Security Forces Squadron response force members. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

It was a night MARE

Lt. Col. Marc Neiberg, 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron senior flight surgeon, checks simulated gunshot wound victim Staff Sgt. Cameron Chesser, 436th Maintenance Group scheduler, for vital signs as part of an active shooter scene during a major accident response exercise Oct. 20, 2015, on Dover Air Force Base, Del. Chesser, one of five simulated fatalities, suffered a simulated gunshot wound to his head presumably inflicted by a member of an East Coast terrorist cell. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

It was a night-MARE

Published Oct. 27, 2015
By Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Active shooters, hostage situations, terrorist attacks, tornados and bombings are not likely to occur at Dover AFB, but the base and its personnel must be prepared to handle any disaster, accident or emergency that may arise.

Team Dover tested its emergency response capabilities during a four day long major accident response exercise Oct. 20-23, 2015, at Dover AFB, Delaware.

The MARE is an annual exercise designed to push the base, its personnel and its emergency response readiness to the brink with a wide range of simulated emergency and disaster scenarios. These scenarios are designed to simulate possible real-world threats to the base's operational capabilities. These scenarios included simulations of an active shooter, a hostage situation, a terrorist attack, chemical spill and others.

"The overall objective was for an antiterrorism force protection MARE," said Maj. Dennis Menjivar, 436th Airlift Wing Inspector General chief of exercises. "The over-arching theme was to see if we could sustain high force protection condition's. Yes, we definitely can."

The majority of the significant events took place during the overnight hours, making the scenarios more realistic, since real-world emergencies do not always occur during duty hours with sunny weather.

"It went pretty well," said Menjivar. "We conducted 24-hour continuous operations with two main events each day, completing all of the wing's objectives."

For Lt. Col. Kevin Golart, 436th Civil Engineer Squadron commander, this was his first time working as the emergency operations center director at Dover AFB.

"Dover Air Force Base does a phenomenal job of bringing in the operations group, the maintenance group, public affairs and organizations from across the wing into one team," Golart said. "I have not seen that done as well elsewhere."

The MARE tested the response capacities of agencies across the base, from the fire department and security forces to public affairs and the civil engineers. Several off-base local and state agencies also took part in the exercise. The MARE helped these agencies optimize their responses that would occur during real-world situations.

"The team gelled very quickly," said Golart. "I was surprised at the support we received from our unit control centers and the support we received from role-players from across the wing."