278th ACR conducts mass casualty exercise

Photo By Sgt. Timothy Massey | Casualty patients wait inside a field liter ambulance during a mass casualty exercise, conducted by the 278th ACR, Aug. 4 at Yavoriv, Ukraine.  

UKRAINE

08.07.2018

Story by Sgt. Timothy Massey and 2nd Lt. Kealy Moriarty

278th Armored Cavalry Regiment, Tennessee Army National Guard

YAVORIV, Ukraine - The 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment from Tennessee and its multinational partners, conduct a mass casualty exercise, Aug. 4 at Yavoriv Combat Training Center.
The exercise is devised to test the units ability to react in the event of a medical emergency. This exercise not only tests the expertise of the medics, but also the communication and coordination of the unit as a whole.
"Training for a Mass Casualty, or MASCAL, Event is important for all Soldiers in the unit, not just medics; A MASCAL event can occur at anytime and can be very chaotic, but we train for this so that we can act in a smooth, methodical, and efficient manner in order to save lives when the real event occurs.” said Lt. Col. Stephen Cole, chief medical officer. “Our goal is to train our Soldiers to the point that, when everything becomes chaotic and stressful, their actions and movements become like second nature.”
The MASCAL exercise is designed to simulate an emergency scenario that medics and combat lifesavers may encounter.
Soldiers know the importance of these exercises and the necessity to practice them often.
According to Cole, “When it really counts and Soldiers' lives are on the line, we need to feel comfortable operating in that type of environment because our training has been harder than the real thing.”
Components of the 278th ACR are deployed to Yavoriv in support of the Joint Multinational Training Group Ukraine. JMTG-U is part of an ongoing effort to contribute to Ukraine’s long-term military reform and training capacity.

• Date Taken: 08.07.2018
• Date Posted: 08.07.2018 12:00
• Story ID: 287628
• Location: UA