Questionable weather at the primary landing site made White Sands the possible alternative.

"Whether the shuttle lands (here) or not, we've had a successful day," said Col. Mark Engeman, 49th Mission Support Group commander and the Department of Defense on-scene commander for the contingency response force. "This is a great chance for us to do something we've trained for a lot."

Though the shuttle has only landed at White Sands once, in 1982, the members of the CRF are no strangers to the hard work of preparing for a landing.

The CRF, made up of people from various emergency response agencies on base, work with White Sands emergency responders and NASA to provide immediate support should the shuttle have to land there.

"It feels good to actually do what we're trained to do instead of training in a classroom setting," said Master Sgt. Charles Robertson, 49th Civil Engineer Squadron Fire Department assistant chief of operations, referring to the preparations necessary in case the alternate site was used.

Sergeant Robertson, whose job it is to provide standby services for emergency medical technicians, said they treat every potential landing as if it were the real thing.

"I volunteered for the CRF because I wanted to be part of the team," he said. "This is a great team. We're ready to go out there and do what is asked of us."

Sergeant Robertson wasn't the only volunteer looking forward to the "real thing." Allen Dalton, crew chief for Fire Station 2 and a 23-year veteran of the CRF, remembers being around for the excitement of the last landing in 1982. He said he's trained at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; in Houston; and in Florida, and said it's good to be able to put the training to use.

The colonel's message for the day was to stay calm, stay focused on the mission and get the job done.

The CRF medical team stood ready to do just that. Lt. Col. Todd Baker, 49th Medical Group on-scene commander, coordinated with civilian medical facilities should members of the crew need advanced medical treatment.

The team is trained and ready to provide that extra level of security should something happen and will stay on the scene to provide care as long as needed, he said.

Though the CRF convenes and stands ready to spring into action anytime the shuttle launches and lands, this time there was a bit more excitement in the air due to weather forecasts at the primary landing location and, according to Colonel Engeman, NASA officials were pleased with the amount of support from the Holloman and White Sands emergency response teams.

"We were prepared ... all the forces were ready to go," said Phillip Goss, 49th CES. The support was great and everyone really came together. Maybe next time we'll get to see more."

Related Links
Space Shuttle Discovery
Space Shuttle News at Space-Travel.Com