MASCAL
[…]Also that, on the morning of 9-11, Pentagon medic Matt Rosenberg was in the health clinic on Corridor 8 "grateful for an uninterrupted hour in which he could study a new medical emergency disaster plan based on the unlikely scenario of an airplane crashing into the Pentagon."
Washington Post, 16 September 2001

Due to the Pentagon’s close proximity to Ronald Reagon National Airport in Washington, DC it is prudent to plan for a potential aircraft crash into the building. However, there are some very disturbing issues related to these two MASCALs.

MASCAL #1

The Pentagon had a medical exercise in May 2001 simulating a Boeing 757 crashing into the Pentagon.

 “The Medics Go To War?
WASHINGTON-The tragedy which occurred here at the Pentagon at approximately 9:40 a.m. on Sept. 11 may well change both the organization and practice of medicine in all sectors-public and private-of the United States.

While nothing could prepare the country for the events of Sept. 11, the Air Force medical staff had practiced for this type of situtation. Dr. Carlton* told U.S. MEDICINE that his team had run an exercise in May with a scenario in which a 757 crashes into the Pentagon. "We had worked out what would happen [and] what was needed," he said. From U.S. Medicine ? The Voice of Federal Medicine, May 2001
http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=270&issueID=31

Dr. Carlton is Lt. Gen. Paul Carlton, the Air Force Surgeon General. Dr. Carlton is currently the Director of the Integrative Center for Homeland Security for the Texas A&M University System.

Lt. Gen. Carlton was on-scene at the Pentagon supervising emergency medical response.

 “Pentagon Medics Trained For Strike?
by Matt Mientka
WASHINGTON-Though the Department of Defense had no capability in place to protect the Pentagon from an ersatz guided missile in the form of a hijacked 757 airliner, DoD medical personnel trained for exactly that scenario in May.

In fact, the tri-Service DiLorenzo Health Care Clinic and the Air Force Flight Medicine Clinic here in the Pentagon trained jointly in May to fine-tune their emergency preparedness, afterward making simple equipment changes that would make a difference Sept. 11 when the hypothetical became reality.
From U.S. Medicine ? The Voice of Federal Medicine, May 2001
http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=272&issueID=31

MASCAL #2

The Pentagon MASCAL (Mass Casualty) exercise of October 2000 was a command exercise simulating the crash of an airliner into the Pentagon. The type of airliner was not specified. This exercise is commonly known. The exercise forecasted 341 casualties (dead and injured).

Pentagon Casualty Exercise Website: Faked Photo

For 3-1/2 years the lead photograph of the article showed the middle photograph below. Note: This photo is still available on the photos page of the article.

http://img12.exs.cx/img12/1309/MASCALOriginalPhotoPage1.jpg

In summer 2004 the lead photo in the article was doctored to show the airliner outside the Pentagon. The photoshopping attempt is pathetic.

http://img13.exs.cx/img13/3686/MASCALCurrentEdited.jpg

Why did the Pentagon doctor the photo?

Here is the link to the article and still existing photos page:
http://www.mdw.army.mil/news/Contingency_Planning.html

MASCAL Pentagon current photos with article:
http://www.mdw.army.mil/news/Contingency_Planning.html
Notice that the burning airliner is far from the Pentagon.

MASCAL Pentagon original photos:
http://www.mdw.army.mil/news/news_photos/Contingency_Planning_Photos.html
Notice the burning airliner is in the middle of the Pentagon. The snack bar and courtyard are called “Ground Zero”.

The article text is the same.

Casualties: Planned vs. Actual

The MASCAL exercise of October 2000 forecasted 341 casualties (dead and injured). No number was reported for the May 2001 medical exercise.

Dead
Pentagon: 125
Flight AA77 passengers: 59
Hijackers: 5 (?)
Total Dead 189

Seriously Injured 106
Total Casualties 295
(excluding lightly injured)

Note that the actual casualties, not including less than seriously injured, totaled 295 ? the exercise forecasted 341 casualties. Data from the FBI report presented to the 9/11 Commission and the Arlington County (Virginia) After-Action Report. The number of lightly injured casualties is widely reported as less than the number of seriously injured. Soldier’s magazine reported a total of 140 injured, which would be a total of 329 casualties.

In amazing coincidence the actual casualties of 329 individuals is almost exactly the same as the forecasted casualties of 341. Only a 3.5% difference. If passengers and hijackers are eliminated the casualty figure is reduced to 277 individuals, which is a 19% difference.

Should the Expected Casualties Been Higher?

I contend that the October 2000 MASCAL planned figure of 341 casualties is much too low for these reasons:

? The ?757? hit the Pentagon in the recently renovated section Wedge One which had been hardened against explosive attacks, specifically truck bombs. The upgrade has been widely cited as a key factor in reducing casualties. (http://www.architectureweek.com/2001/1010/news_2-1.html)
Note that approximately 20% of the damage was to the non-renovated section directly adjacent to the hit zone (Pentagon Building Performance Report). In October 2000, renovation was just beginning. Therfore, the MASCAL could not plan for a plane crash into the upgraded section ? since it did not exist.

? Wedge One was not fully occupied. According to Pentagon renovation manager Lee Evey, about 80 percent of the Wedge One workers had returned to their offices. That sector of the building, therefore, potentially housed about 3,500 workers that day. If Wedge One were fully occupied it would have housed about 4,375 workers. Casualties would have been 25% higher. Complete renovation of the Pentagon was expected to require five years. During the renovation, the other parts of the Pentagon had higher occupancy levels due to the construction. The MASCAL could not plan for partial occupation ” that the contrary, would need to plan for higher than standard occupancy rates.

? The ?757? struck paralell to the ground through the heavy exterior walls. The vast majority of plan crashes occur an angle ? through the much lighter roof.

? A Boeing 757 is not the largest type of airliner flying into Washington National. The MASCAL should have anticipated the "worst case? scenario of a much larger aircraft.

Flight 77 Pilot Was MASCAL Author !!!

Captain Charles F. Burlingame III
Click on thumbnail for larger picture

The Washington Post reported on 16 September 2001 that the pilot of Flight 77 was former F-4 fighter pilot Charles Burlingame III, who in his last Navy job, developed anti-terror strategies for the Navy before retiring to fly for American Airlines. He drafted the Pentagon’s emergency response plan in case it was hit by a civilian airliner. Flight 77 allegedly struck the Pentagon. It is not clear which MASCAL Charles Burlingame III authored.

Charles Burlingame was a Naval reservist for 17 years. He was age 51. The Army would initially not allow him to be buried at Arlington National Cemetary since he died before the age of sixty, which is the eligibility age for reservists not killed in combat. The cemetary is managed by the Army. After Congressional intervention and negative publicity, the Army reversed its position.

For more information see:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/cfburling3.htm

New Medal Honors Pentagon Civilian Casualties

Click on thumbnail for larger picture

From the Stars and Stripes
http://www.stripes.com/01/sep01/ed092801m.html

New medal honors Pentagon civilians killed or injured in Sept. 11 attacks
28 September 2001
By Lisa Burgess and Sandra Jontz

WASHINGTON ? The Defense Department created a historic new medal, the civilian equivalent of a Purple Heart, to honor Pentagon employees killed or injured during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Thursday.
<snip>
"For most of our history, war has been something that has largely taken place on foreign soil," Rumsfeld said. The Sept. 11 attacks "brought the battlefield home to us."<snip>