Practicing for an event we hope never comes

There is a well-abused saying — “practice makes perfect.” That may work in many fields of endeavor and it certainly helps first responders to go through disaster scenario training as many did Wednesday, but unlike a musical score, they can’t predict the day, time or location where a real disaster, man-made or otherwise, might occur. This scene was that of an active shooter and gunmen with bombs at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport along with a hostage situation — not farfetched concepts. It is unfortunate, but in this day and age, this type of training for our first responders and others who would be involved is absolutely necessary.

This exercise takes a lot of coordination from a number of law enforcement, military and civilian agencies. This scenario was carried out by the Macon-Bibb County Sheriffs Office’s SWAT and Explosive Ordinance Disposal units and regular deputies, the Georgia Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Wing, the Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Agency, Macon-Bibb and Houston County firefighters, Medical Center, Navicent Health along with Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside Hospital plus staff at the airport. Every agency had a role to play, from eliminating the threat to transporting and treating the wounded.

We all hope and pray that the lessons learned from these drills never have to be employed, but we’re sure first responders and medical teams in Orlando, Dallas and San Bernardino, just to mention a few, hoped for the same.

This story was originally published July 14, 2016 at 9:09 PM with the headline "Practicing for an event we hope never comes."