Joint Base Balad releases medical MRAPs

Courtesy Photo | Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, practice carrying a casualty into the new heavy armored ground ambulance, Aug. 23, 2008, at the Balad mine-resistant ambush protected fielding facility.  

BALAD, IRAQ

08.22.2008

Courtesy Story

215th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

By Anthony Hooker
215th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – Four heavy armored ground ambulances were released by the Balad mine-resistant ambush protected fielding facility, Aug. 22, 2008, in a continued push to get the modified MRAP into the hands of medical troops.

The HAGAs were the first released from JBB and kick off the second phase of transferring the modified MRAPs to combat support units serving in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.

Medical troops stationed at various bases throughout Iraq participated in classes which taught students how to drive and operate the vehicle, as well as identify and operate the medical equipment inside. More than 100 HAGAS are expected to be fielded in Iraq by the end of the year.

The HAGA allows medics to administer aid to as many as three litter patients or six seated patients. The HAGA also has a hydraulic lift at the rear of the vehicle, a suction device, and a vital signs monitor, which can check blood pressure, pulse and support an electrocardiogram.

A low-density light was installed to help medics identify blood on a casualty and two tactical bags – called 'jump bags' – are removable kits that can be detached and taken outside if immediate care is needed.

Sgt. Danielle Desimone, a combat medic with the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment , said she was pretty pleased with how the vehicle was set up.

"There are five or six times more supplies here than what you'd carry in your medical aid bag," said Desimone, a native of Dalton, GA. "We have a lot more room to move around and it's an advantage to lay your stuff out in front of you instead of having to dig through your aid bag."

Desimone suggested that the vehicle's ability would also raise a medic's level of care.

"You always do your first assessments on the ground – blocked airways, bleeding," Desimone said. "But laying them down allows you to check for areas where blood is exiting and better access for treatment instead of sitting in seats. You're not going to be able to take care of two or three patients comfortably in the back of a regular MRAP."

Warrant Officer Todd Jeno, Sr., the site leader at the Balad MRAP facility, said the HAGAs have more mobility than the traditional MRAP.

"[The HAGA is] equipped with a visual enhancement feature so it's able to move when aircrafts don't fly during sandstorms or nightfall," Jeno, a native of Faribault, Minn., said. "It also has a casualty evacuation kit, which can carry one litter [patient] in between the seats."

Master Sgt. Keith Tester, the evacuation platoon sergeant with the 2nd SCR's Regimental Support Squadron, said his Soldiers have provided medical support to logistical patrols and personnel service detachments for 13 months. Tester said getting a vehicle dedicated to treating Soldiers will make life easier for his team.

"It's difficult to get litter patients in standard MRAPs," Tester said. "You're cramming people in and trying to take care of them; it requires a lot of improvisation."

Staff Sgt. Maribel Martinez, another of Tester's Soldiers, said having a vehicle assigned to the medical group will allow for better continuity on patrols.

"Before, we would ride in separate vehicles," said Martinez. "If something happened, we had to be called to the scene. Now, there are no issues concerning where my fellow medics are, wondering if they were in the vehicle hit."

Pfc. Nicole Walsh, another medic with the 2nd SCR, said having a vehicle was great because teams won't have to haul their gear to different motor pools in between missions.

Justin Edwards, a field service team instructor with Stanley Associates, taught the medical portion of the class. Edwards, a reservist and OIF veteran who is assigned to the 7239th Medical Group, based in Chattanooga, Tenn., said the HAGA's equipment is top of the line, fully stocked and ready to go.

"This vehicle will put medics back on the battlefield doing patient care," said Edwards. "Instead of non-medical personnel bringing in casualties, medical staff can be on the scene providing care."

• Date Taken: 08.22.2008
• Date Posted: 10.15.2008 18:28
• Story ID: 25043
• Location: BALAD, IQ