Explosive ordinance disposal personnel from the 502nd Civil Engineering Squadron here wrapped up a week-long training exercise with the San Antonio Police Department’s bomb squad March 25 to develop a partnership that will provide both JBSA and San Antonio a more rapid and effective response to possible future explosive emergencies.
Both teams are aiming to counter the growing possibility of an incident with multiple simultaneous threats by developing a response plan that integrates both the 502nd CES and the SAPD, said Staff Sgt. Rebekah McGraw, 502nd CES NCO in charge of training.
“We could be in a situation where the SAPD is overloaded and from what we read in the headlines, that possibility is very real,” McGraw said. “If that happens, and SAPD calls to request our help, this partnership is going to help both parties thrive and dominate in that situation.”
SAPD already has essential resources such as robots, X-ray capability and K-9 units, but the military unit will be able to help them improve in a different aspect.
The 502nd CES will provide a level of technical expertise and manpower that will help the police response become more versatile. During the training exercise, both teams ran through various emergency exercises to “get to know each other” more thoroughly, which will help prepare both parties for an integrated response in the future, McGraw said.
“Let’s say multiple incidents happen,” she explained. “If SAPD is better equipped to handle a vehicular incident, for example, they’ll prioritize that response and ask the Air Force to handle a different emergency.”
This division of labor streamlines the entire response.
“Knowing who’s best suited for what task will save a lot of time on a response,” McGraw said. “We can make quicker decisions and we’ll be speaking the same language.”
For these two agencies – civil and military – “speaking the same language” requires a lot of networking, said Officer Jon Sarno, SAPD Bomb Squad sergeant.
“If we want to develop a relationship between our two agencies in case we ever have to go on some type of joint operation, we have to start now,” he explained.
Looking down the road, Sarno suggested this partnership might even result in a stream of personnel between the two teams.
“Hopefully, we attract Airmen when they transition out of the Air Force and get them to come to SAPD and eventually part of our bomb squad,” he said.
Both sides have plenty to offer in a potential emergency, suggested Officer Jason Alberthal, SAPD bomb squad member.
“We can help them on the outside, and they can help us,” he said. “We’re mutual assets.”
This partnership will bring some much-needed relief to Sarno’s team, which responds to emergencies in 15 area counties.
They encounter scenarios with multiple simultaneous emergencies about twice a year on average, according the SAPD.
“One time we went out to New Braunfels to deal with some old dynamite that had crystallized,” Sarno recalled. “We were burning that when, all of a sudden, we got a call in Kerrville; some guy had booby-trapped his house.”
In situations like that, both parties will need to be able to share information effectively. Air Force personnel will rely heavily on the SAPD’s ability to pinpoint locations of crimes while SAPD will depend on the 502nd CES for additional manpower and versatility, said Tech Sgt. Matthew Giacona, 502nd CES section chief.
“This partnership is just a force multiplier,” he explained. “Integrating with these guys means we’re able to share all of our knowledge. SAPD brings some info from the law enforcement side of the house, where we bring some more technical knowledge from a training perspective.”
It’s not unprecedented for EOD squads to respond to emergencies off-base, but this level of integration with local law enforcement is, McGraw added.
“This program puts us in a position to work directly with SAPD patrols,” McGraw said. “We get to network with these people, so we’ve already established that relationship before an emergency even happens.”
McGraw’s team is hoping that their teamwork with the SAPD inspires a pattern of inter-agency cooperation in other cities.
“This is not just for the Air Force and not just San Antonio,” said McGraw, pointing out that Army personnel at Fort Hood,Texas have expressed interest in implementing a similar program. “Other areas are watching what we’re doing here … this absolutely can be implemented successfully elsewhere.”
Hopefully, the SAPD-Air Force partnership will just end up being a precautionary measure. Still, if any threats arise both teams would be ready, Sarno said.
“We’ll already have worked together, so we’ll be able to operate seamlessly,” he said.