Puerto Belgrano – In the Puerto Belgrano area, the first edition of the “Protection 2024” exercise was developed, a joint training to support the community in the event of a supposed natural disaster.
The hypothesis suggested a situation in which an intense storm hit the Coronel Rosales District, leaving countless damages due to strong winds, added to copious rains that caused flooding in different neighborhoods of the town and on public roads.
Units of the Marine Amphibious Brigade (BRIM) participated for the Argentine Navy; from the Puerto Belgrano Naval Hospital (HNPB); the Puerto Belgrano Naval Base (BNPB); the Naval Air Squadron No. 2; the Navy Rescue Service (SISA); the Security Battalion (BISA) of the BNPB; the ARA logistics vessel “Patagonia” (LGPA), and the ARA advisory “San Carlos Strait” (AVES).
In addition, personnel from the Argentine Army, the Federal and Buenos Aires Police, Civil Defense and Punta Alta Volunteer Firefighters, among other institutions, participated.
In this context, a Plan led by the Commander of the BRIM, Captain Enrique Olmedo, was executed, which included the installation of an Emergency Operations Center (COE), an Evacuee Center (EC) and a Relocatable Hospital (HR). ).
In addition, work was done on the organization and distribution of tasks to the Units dependent on the Navy Training and Enlistment Command, and coordination with the civil authorities of the Municipalities of Coronel Rosales and Bahía Blanca to mitigate the adverse effects of the hypothetical storm.
In this sense, at mid-morning the Commander of the Marine Corps, Marine Commodore Leonardo Natán Gómez, received the Mayor of Coronel Rosales, Rodrigo Aristimuño; to the Secretary of Security of Rosario, Gabriel Álvarez; to the Undersecretary of Prevention, Liaison and Communication of Bahía Blanca, Ornela Scarano; and the Director of Bahian Civil Defense, Sebastián Sepúlveda.
After a presentation by Commander Eduardo Álvarez, Co-director of the exercise, the authorities toured the Command Post where the situation was monitored. There they learned about the different means available for tasks such as transportation of material and personnel, transit in flooded areas and backhoes.
At the Evacuee Center they toured the accommodations, kitchens and the water purification plant, while a road opening demonstration was carried out by the Amphibious Engineer Company dependent on the BRIM. Consecutively, they moved to the Relocatable Hospital –located near the BNPB Sports Stadium–, under the coordination of HNPB personnel.
Operational activities
The exercise began with a tour of the authorities where demonstrations of identification of evacuees, medical care, delivery of basic necessities and accommodation in the CE were carried out.
Likewise, a reconnaissance flight of the affected area was carried out by a Sea King aircraft from the Second Naval Air Helicopter Squadron. The land evacuation of the wounded to the Relocatable Hospital also took place.
On board the AVES, a simulated hydrocarbon spill containment and extraction exercise was carried out with foam, in order to visually materialize the contingency that SISA personnel managed to control using a specific containment hose for these cases.
Consecutively, a second incident was proposed in the naval unit, simulating with a doll the fall of a man into the water, in order to carry out the corresponding training in the search and rescue of people in an aquatic environment, with subsequent evacuation to the LGPA ship, which It fulfilled the role of hospital ship. Likewise, increasing the complexity of the hypothetical incident, a fire occurred on board, in the paint warehouse, thus activating the firefighting protocols.
This exercise also included the simulation of two burn injuries, where both SISA and AVES personnel immediately notified the Emergency Operations Center to deploy firefighters to the affected area and carry out the evacuation of the affected personnel. to the Relocatable Hospital.
Once there, they were received by medical personnel in the examination room, who ruled that one of them also had carbon monoxide poisoning, for which he was treated with a mobile SISA hyperbaric chamber that was deployed near the HR.
Closing the events that made up the exercise, a search and rescue was carried out in collapsed structures in rural areas of the Puerto Rosales area, where the BISA War Dogs showed off their ability to find people trapped by landslides and in open spaces, in case of being lost, dazed or unconscious.
Increasing the complexity of the final event, the existence of extremely seriously injured people who had to be airlifted to the HR using a Sea King helicopter was simulated.
To conclude the “Protection I – 2024” exercise, the third phase of the Procedure Plan was activated, which includes the delisting of the means deployed for its execution, by the personnel of each participating destination.
