Photo By Chief Petty Officer Mary Popejoy | A Djiboutian national army soldier provides perimeter security for an injured soldier...... read more read more
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By Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Popejoy
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs
DJIBOUTI – Medical professionals from Army Forces Central Command, U.S. Central Command Air Forces and Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa took part in a Medical Information Exchange with the Djiboutian national army, Jan. 12-16, at the Kempinski Hotel in Djibouti.
The idea for the conference came from the director of Djibouti Health Services who visited ARCENT and requested they give the Djiboutian national army an idea of what the U.S. Army's basic medical/non-medical Soldier learns when it comes to basic medical skills.
"In the Djiboutian army an artillery man receives little to no medical training, so we were asked to provide a minimal number of tasks to train all of the DNA soldiers so they can see the different levels of medical training we provide our U.S. Soldiers," said Memphis, Tenn., native, Army Maj. Kent Hall, Horn of Africa desk officer for ARCENT.
During the information exchange, the Djiboutian soldiers were able to see and demonstrate how to treat heat injuries, conduct an initial evaluation of a casualty, how to treat a fracture, a sucking chest wound or a broken bone.
"To help them better understand what some of these medical scenarios look like, we brought along moulage, which is the art of applying mock injuries for the purpose of training medical and military personnel, so they can see first-hand what it would look like on a real person if they saw it in the field," said Las Vegas Nev., native, Technical Sgt. Traci Wilmoth, 99th Medical Group. "These types of injuries are new to them, so it's important to simulate and make it as realistic as possible."
At the end of the exchange, the Djiboutian soldiers went through a battlefield scenario to apply the skills reviewed in classroom instruction.
"We wanted to know how well they absorbed the information, so we set up a few scenarios at the Djiboutian army's Camp Cheik Osman, so they could show us and their leadership that the exchange of ideas was beneficial," said Hall. "Some of the soldiers served as wounded personnel, combat medics, and others provided perimeter security and found out that even they could become injured in a lifesaving effort. The simulation of combat injuries was definitely a good way for us to see how they work as a team and how they would conduct in a real life situation."
According to Wilmoth, learning new medical information and practicing it whenever possible is beneficial for the person as well as the patient they are called upon to help in a combat situation.
"All the information they have about basic medical skills will help them save lives because that's what we're trained to do—save lives," said Wilmoth.
Djiboutian army Sgt. Hassanleh Ali Hassanleh, enjoyed the medical information exchange because he was able to learn valuable lifesaving techniques from the U.S. military.
"This was a wonderful opportunity. I learned a lot, especially technique and what the Americans are using to treat wounds on the battle field," said Hassanleh.
Djiboutian national army Commanding Gen. Zakaria Cheick Ibrahim, had nothing but positive things to say about the performance of his soldiers during the battle field simulation.
"This was a very good exercise," said Ibrahim. "This will help those who don't have a medical background because they need to be equipped with basic medical skills."
According to hospital corpsman Petty Officer 2nd Class Philip Johnson, Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron-464 aerospace medical technician, being able to demonstrate methods of invaluable lifesaving techniques to partner nation soldiers is an experience that makes him proud to be a part of the medical field.
"It's my honor and privilege to work beside the Djiboutian army and share with them techniques they may not be familiar with as part of their military training," said Johnson, a Corpus Christi, Texas, native. "It helps to develop a partner nation militarily and strengthens the partnership between the U.S. and Djibouti, and that is always a win-win for all involved."
| Date Taken: | 01.20.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 01.20.2008 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 15600 |
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| Web Views: | 401 |
| Downloads: | 340 |
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