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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.