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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2017)
8A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2017 Drills: ‘In a disaster, time is critical’ Continued from Page 1A That practicality may play a key role in an inevitable major disaster in the Pacific region, U.S. Army Pacific Command- ing General Robert B. Brown said. “You don’t want to form relationships during a crisis,” Brown said. “That’s why this is so important that we form rela- tionships so we can save lives when there’s a disaster in the future working together.” Language barrier In the field, soldiers ran through drills and evaluated their performances. One scenario forced sol- diers to conduct search and res- cue missions in a “rubble pile” — a simulated building col- lapse that included a collection of storage containers, concrete and crushed cars. They worked together to stabilize parts of the structures and mark spots that previous groups had already surveyed. One tactical differ- ence stood out. “The American side is more flexible. The ability of the indi- vidual is stronger,” PLA Lt. Mo Sihua said. “On our side, everyone knows their role very clearly.” Another scenario involved soldiers treating medical patients in a dangerous area. After stabilizing the patients, the soldiers needed to quickly carry them on stretchers and place them on a zip line attached to a hastily constructed rope bridge. The patients would then glide above a 25-foot- wide stream to safety. American soldiers learned new methods of tying knots when building the bridge. Chinese soldiers, meanwhile, learned that they need to pack equipment — such as bandages and medical tubes — that vary in size in order to be prepared for many types of medical situ- ations at a disaster site. Both exercises involved a lot of creativity to overcome the language barrier, especially given the acronyms and jargon soldiers use. Staff Sgt. Virgil Newberry, for instance, struggled once to ask his Chinese counter- part to play dead during a sce- nario. He employed multiple body gestures to convey the message. “I wish I could’ve watched Photos by Colin Murphey/The Daily Astorian A site at Camp Rilea made to simulate a disaster zone is used by U.S. and Chinese soldiers to practice disaster response. WHO TOOK PART Participants in the exercise included U.S. Army Pacific, the 8th Theater Sustainment Command, the Oregon National Guard, the U.S. Military Academy, the 351st Civil Affairs Command, the 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, the 571st Sapper Company, the U.S Coast Guard Sector Columbia River, the Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern Division, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Port- land District, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Pacific Disaster Center, an applied research center managed by the University of Hawaii. myself,” Newberry said with a laugh. Another soldier in a differ- ent drill placed his hand near his neck area to ask for a collar to stabilize a patient. “Once you overcome the language barriers, it’s the basic common challenges of com- ing into a new group,” Maj. Valente Perry said. “It bridges that gap in communication. It builds hope that there can be collaboration in the future.” Rare opportunity Throughout the week, sol- diers from both armies lived together in barracks. They also attended a Portland Trailblaz- ers game Saturday night. “Sometimes if you don’t work together, there can be almost a mystery about the other place,” Brown said. “You read about it, you see it, but it’s so far away. You don’t know the people. There could be a misunderstanding of differ- ent individuals. You take away that mystery. The more they participate, the more they’ll understand each other, and the chances they’ll see each other in a real disaster and be able to work more efficiently.” Considering how rare the opportunity was for the sol- diers on both sides, they expressed excitement about the chance to work with one another. “I immediately said, ‘Let’s do it,’” said Newberry, who is stationed at Rilea, about when he first learned of the training a few months ago. “It’s not who you’d think we’d work with like Britain, France or other countries.” Diplomatic tensions have persisted between the two countries for decades, but the exchange took place at a time of particular uncertainty. Presi- dent Donald Trump has chided China for its trade policies as well as its relationship with North Korea. Brown said the exchange has not garnered any politi- cal backlash, adding that the countries have a common will to collaborate in their disaster response efforts. “You can have areas of dif- ferences and still find many things in common where you can work together,” Brown said. “When you find things in common, it enables you to talk about your differences easier. If you don’t find things in com- mon, you just focus on differ- ences and it’s not effective for anybody.” Jian indicated that Trump’s recent visit to China was a pos- itive sign for the future of the exchange. “He reached important con- sensus with President Xi Jin- ping about further developing our relationship in a healthy and stable manner,” Jian said. “This presidential consensus has provided important stra- tegic guidance of the future development of our bilateral relations. This consensus defi- nitely provided solid politi- cal foundation for our mili- tary-to-military relationship development.” Jian added that the exchange itself will have benefits beyond preparing for a disaster. “It is a concrete action taken to push forward our prac- tical cooperation,” Jian said. “(It) will not only be able to facilitate our military-to-mili- tary relationship, but will also provide a very good oppor- tunity for the two militaries to interact positively in the Asian-Pacific region so that we can work together to ensure regional peace and stability.” ‘Time is critical’ The exchange, as it has done recently in even-num- bered years, will take place in China next year. Two years, ago Joint Base Lewis-Mc- Chord in Washington state hosted the event. Brown hopes to see a spike in the number of soldiers par- ticipating and that the exer- cises can become more com- plex, he said. The units that participated were chosen based on the high likelihood that they would be selected to respond to a disaster. “In a disaster, time is criti- cal. It’s almost impossible to get there too quickly,” Brown said. “We would be way ahead in a coordination element to save a lot of lives because of the efforts here.” LEFT: U.S. and Chinese soldiers practice crossing a body of water by rope. MIDDLE: Soldiers practice drilling through concrete, with the media in the background. RIGHT: Chinese and U.S. soldiers practice moving a disaster victim to safety. See more photos of the drills online at DailyAstorian.com Boone: Family is planning a celebration of his life Continued from Page 1A department, staunch supporter of Debby — he was a big man you could absolutely trust. He loved life and life loved him right back. He was just a fine person.” Looking for adventure Boone grew up in Portland and joined the fledgling Ham- let Rural Fire Department in 1975, a year after he moved to the area. He did not have prior fire- fighting experience, but joined the department because he was a young man looking for adventure in his life. Boone stuck with it because he had “a personal convic- tion that everyone needs to give back to their community in some way or another,” he said in a 2015 interview with the Seaside Signal’s Kather- ine Lacaze. “I volunteered with them at that point, and then I just stayed with it.” Boone was chairman of the Hamlet Rural Fire Protec- tion District board in the 1980s, a position he relinquished when he was promoted to chief in 1991. During his time as chief, Boone oversaw the construc- tion and remodeling of build- ings, firefighter training, and the purchase of vehicles and equipment, among services to the community. “Under his guidance, the department saw tremendous growth in equipment, facilities, and personnel,” Verley said. In 2008, he was among those recognized by the Clat- sop County Board of Com- missioners for his “significant contributions” to the county following windstorms during the Great Coastal Gale of 2007. In 2014, Boone helped assemble a Federal Emer- gency Management Agency grant that allowed the purchase of the department’s first new fire apparatus, a custom built 3,000-gallon water tender. In April 2015, Boone was recognized for his ser- vice during the monthly Ham- let community potluck din- ner, with about 60 people in attendance. He was given an antique fire nozzle, polished and mounted on a piece of wood Hamlet Fire Department Bill Boone on the job in Hamlet. containing a placard engraved with a thank you for dedicating “40 years and counting” to the community. ‘Part of a team’ Verley met Boone about 14 years ago, when both were on construction jobs, he said. “I was working on a house and Bill was working on a neighboring house,” Verley said. “He walked over and he made a pitch for the fire department.” The centerpiece of Hamlet Fire, the Necanicum fire sta- tion, was designed and built under Bill’s watch, Verley said. Boone spent almost every Wednesday at the fire station, taking care of small mainte- nance items, paperwork, plan- ning drills, and all the details necessary to keep the depart- ment running smoothly, Ver- ley said. “I really enjoyed work- ing with Bill,” Verley said. “He was fair and thorough. He really made everyone feel appreciated and he made you feel a part of the team.” Daniels praised Boone’s mutual aid efforts. “As chief of Hamlet, they’d always send people needed. He was running a business. It was a lot for him, but he’d never say no. He’d always be there.” Dale Kamrath, Seaside fire chief from 2007 to 2012, later moved to Hamlet where he served as a firefighter volun- teer. He called Boone’s efforts “flat-out amazing. “In the 10 years I’ve known him, he’s always gone out of his way to help anybody, whether it was fire service or personal.” Celebration of life After Boone was diagnosed with cancer in 2016 and unable to actively serve, Verley was named chief and Boone assis- tant chief, a position he served until early this year. When Boone first joined the department, there was a strong sense of community in the town. Some of that was lost over the years, he said, but there has been a resurgence of commu- nity spirit, including the rein- statement of potluck dinners, which are held the second Sat- urday of each month, and holi- day events. “There are a million differ- ent ways to do it, but this is just the way I’ve chosen,” he said in 2015. Boone specifically said he wasn’t interested in a big cele- bration or a lot of fanfare, Ver- ley said. “He wasn’t interested in glory — he was interested in helping his fellow human beings.” Cleve Rooper, Cannon Beach fire chief from 1996 to 2011, remembered Boone as a builder, contractor, carpen- ter, boat operator, fly fisherman and a really good friend. “He was a very accom- plished man, a very good friend,” Rooper said. “He was a great fire chief, community member, a great family man and contributed a lot to the community. And he died way too young. He will be sorely missed.” A memorial dinner for Boone for Hamlet firefighters past and present will be held at an upcoming date. Boone’s family is plan- ning a celebration of life, Ver- ley said.
