NHC Lemoore participates in Citadel Shield/Solid Curtain 2024 exercise

Story by Elaine Heirigs

Naval Health Clinic Lemoore

LEMOORE, Calif. (Feb. 8, 2024) Naval Health Clinic (NHC) Lemoore trained for real-world events during the Commander Naval Installation Command (CNIC) Citadel Shield/Solid Curtain (CS/SC) 2024 exercise held on Feb. 7, aboard Naval Air Station (NAS) Lemoore.

CS/SC is a yearly force protection exercise planned and conducted by CNIC to test the Navy installation’s response to a base emergency, such as an active shooter or explosive device.

Prior to the start of the exercise, the clinic’s Tactical Combat Casualty Care instructors applied moulage or wound simulations using prosthetics and theater makeup to enhance the training scenario.

Active-duty personnel from Fleet Readiness Center West, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 113 and VFA 194 volunteered to act as victims with injuries. The actors were then placed at Neutra Elementary, afterschool hours to help provide a realistic training scenario during this multi-government agency exercise.

Meanwhile at the clinic, the building was placed on lockdown from the notification of the scenario at the nearby base school, activating active shooter security protocols to keep patients and staff safe. The clinic incident management team was subsequently assembled to respond to the simulated crisis and lend medical support to the base installation.

“There are many response elements that must be inspected and validated including notification and lockdown procedures, security forces and fire department response, mutual aid agreements, patient care, transport, and recovery,” said Karl Kassner, NHC Lemoore medical emergency manager.

The actors were transported back to NHC Lemoore as patients, where the clinic triage team was assembled to evaluate each of the 18 patients who had simulated injuries.

“This exercise tested the coordination and collaboration between NAS Lemoore and its mass casualty plans in support of installation medical needs during a disaster,” said Kassner. “Active shooter exercises are critically important for the safety and security of our clinic personnel and patients. Participation in this exercise fulfills requirements to conduct annual active shooter drills and provide valuable training to our medical staff.”

Naval Health Clinic Lemoore, co-located with Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Lemoore, ensures the readiness of its active-duty service members and improves the lives of military families through the delivery of high-quality healthcare to over 18,000 eligible beneficiaries at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California and NAS Fallon, Nevada.

The command also provides dental care and medical administrative support to Navy, Marine Corps, and international students at the Naval Postgraduate School, Defense Language Institute and the Center for Information Dominance in Monterey, California. The command’s mission is to advance the readiness and health of our warfighters and beneficiaries and to invest in our people and partnerships.