NOVEMBER 20, 2025 – During the evening of exercise Mosaic Tiger 26-1, an intelligence report surfaced: A simulated news release of a host-nation police force raiding a local home filled with what appeared to be 600 gallons of cleaning solution.
Alone, that information is just another snippet collected by the many intelligence analysts sifting through the daily information environment. But paired with social media posts threatening chemical attacks on American forces in the same location … you’ve got a different picture forming.
Armed with this new threat map, Airmen at the Combat Support Training Range at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, reacted by increasing their vigilance. The site serves as the main operating base for all the command and control, producing A-10C Thunderbolt II sorties for a combat-readiness exercise. Security is paramount.
The next day, a 55-gallon drum was thrown from the back of a truck inside the MOB, spilling liquid across the roadway, as a noxious plume appeared.
It’s on.
“The ability to recognize the signs and symptoms from possible chemical exposure, understanding the implications behind an intelligence drop from open-source news reporting, paired with the obvious visible signs of what could be a chemical attack can be the difference between life and death,” said Tech. Sgt. Ben Hammond, 23d Wing wing inspection team member. “Like in this exercise scenario, if we go into an area where there’s any potential of a chemical attack, I’m on edge, looking for any signs that are out of place, like a barrel in the middle of the road that matches an intel of concern.”
Master Sgt. Justin Heitzmann, 23d Combat Air Base Squadron force protection, noticed the barrel while driving along the roadway, and made the call.
“Integrated defense is my forte,” he said, “and we harp all the time that every Airmen is a sentry. If you see something, say something. It happened to be me who saw the barrel, but I am confident that anyone else would have seen the item, investigated and called the alert in.”
“ALARM RED, MOPP 4” echoed over the loudspeaker and through all radio channels across the site, prompting exercise players to don their chemical protective gear. The plume, later identified as mustard gas, continued to blow downwind directly into the wing operations center.
Now armed with a full-body suit, gloves, boots and a protective mask, MOB leaders continued their work directing airpower in the simulated war effort. What could have been disastrous for the entire command team was prevented due to the vigilance of one Airman.
“One individual can truly hold the lives of the entire team out here in their hands,” Hammond said after directing the inject and managing the situation from an evaluator stance. “We were hoping the emergency managers, responsible for the safety and wellbeing of the rest of the camp are going to be able to recognize the signs early enough to save everyone’s lives.”
Minutes after Heitzmann reported the threat, security forces established a cordon and a hazardous material team arrived and began inspecting and determining the chemical makeup. With these steps complete, wing inspectors closed the scenario. And while the exercise players didn’t always make the right choice, the focus was on learning and strengthening standard operating procedures.
“We expect our enemies to hit us where we’re complacent, when we’re focused on something else,” Hammond said about the potential for the use of internationally condemned chemical agents. “They want to hit us when we’re looking the other direction. They’ll look for the easiest opportunity to affect the most amount of people.”
This mock chemical attack was just one of the many events designed to test the mettle of the 23d WG and 23d CABS Airmen throughout the week. Wing exercise planners challenged Airmen with simulated missile launches, drone incursions, unexploded ordnance discoveries, perimeter breaches, gas contaminations and host of other issues to prepare Moody AFB for any deployment tasking.
Story by Master Sgt. Daryl Knee
23rd Wing