Utah's National Disaster Medical System workers got a taste of what would happen in the event of a military disaster in a mock exercise Saturday at the Air National Guard Base.

The simulated disaster tested the response and coordination of Utah's agencies and hospitals in the event of evacuation of military personnel in an overseas conflict, such as an ambush or battle, said Capt. Scott Scharman of the U.S. Air Force."This is the first opportunity for the Utah National Disaster Medical System to work with military in an exercise like this," he said.

During the practice run, a C-130 plane carrying about 60 wounded soldiers landed at the base and a team of military, doctors, Red and Gold Cross and Veterans Affairs personnel assisted in bringing the wounded off the plane, assessing their injuries and moving them into ambulances. The Red and Gold Cross transferred casualties to UTA buses acting as ambulances that took those wounded to nearby hospitals.

The "patients," played by Fort Douglas 328th Field Hospital Army Reservists, were flown in with wounds varying from severe head injuries to broken legs and arms.

Overall, the injured went away with confidence in the practice run.

"We got in and out of there pretty quick," said one soldier with a head wound. "I didn't think it was going to go that smooth."

To make the practice run realistic, names of those with injuries were not released and the injured were evaluated as if the situation were real.

"They asked all the right questions," said one. "They even took my blood pressure on the plane."

Col. Kathy Devlin of the 328th Field Hospital said the 23 agencies participating in the drill worked together well.

"We're learning, and that's what it's all about," she said. "It lets us know how we can transfer our soldiers into the civilian community."

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Scharman said realistic drills like the one on Saturday are valuable in preparing the NDMS and in working out glitches in the system.

"It's one thing to have a paper exercise," he said. "Until you press the radio and talk to someone or until you pull someone off a plane, no one really knows what's going to happen."

He said a scenario like the one practiced at the Air National Guard could happen if a wartime disaster occurred and there was an overflow at Hill Air Force Base.

The Utah National Disaster Medical System worked with victims of last summer's tornado in Salt Lake City. It consists of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state and local governments and the private sector.

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