Zombies briefly take over JBER fitness center

  • Published
  • By Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Barnett
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaksa --  The Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson fitness center was an unusual place Monday; there were zombie sightings in the midst of the first snow day and Halloween.

First there were only a few, but then they caught more attention as their numbers grew.
They roamed around inside the gym and were seen taking on 673d Security Forces by the main entrance. After multiple sightings of attacks and blood even on the ceiling, things returned to normal.

What might have been over-looked were the mysterious containers brought in first thing that morning, and the group of normal volunteers that gathered in a room away from the work-out areas.

The containers were opened to reveal fake blood, various sponges and other moulage equipment.

This team's mission: to turn the volunteers into zombies. Those who have been through training exercises involving medical response would likely be familiar with this moulage team.

They normally perform similar services in order to make the casualty scenarios look and feel as real as possible - without hurting anyone or causing real damage.

"We support training, no matter where it is," said Gavin Gardner, the simulation coordinator for the moulage team. "Our simulation center is the first PACAF tier one site; we mentor other sites across PACAF. That's what we're here for, and it's also fun."
In the spirit of Halloween, Gardner's team chose to keep up their skills by creating zombies.

"This is the first time I've done zombies," said Air Force Master Sgt. Michelle Long, a moulage team member. "I'm the NCOIC for Dental Records and Reception. I started working with medical readiness in 2005, and they do exercises, so that's how I got involved." At her previous bases, Long worked with kids to help create scenarios at off-base schools.

"It was really fun for the community," she said. "They got really elaborate; they even hold mock funerals. It was huge and a lot of services really got together for that. Most of the time we only do mass casualty exercises."

At the mention of using zombies to train, other services once again joined in.
"I definitely wanted to do this," said Marissa Carrillo, a simulation operator from the University of Alaska in Anchorage. "I like to participate in the community and work with the military. I got a call to do this and I said yes."

Not all team members were new to this sort of thing.

"I have done zombies before, back in theater at Los Angeles," said Will Enfinger, a moulage simulation operator. "Zombies are fun, but I like being able to do this because it shows that we are versatile and that we can support things across the wing."

The volunteers also enjoyed the training. Air Force Master Sgt. Brian Goodman, 3rd Aircraft Maintenance Support Squadron superintendent, and his wife Kendra love zombies and enjoyed being made-up like the undead.

"You are the best zombie I've ever seen," Goodman told his zombified wife. "I've never been more in love with you than I am right now."