Photo By Sgt. Mike MacLeod | U.S. Army medic Spc. Gregory Feldman with 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry...... read more read more
Subscribe
Policemen here can now provide lifesaving emergency medical aid to area residents and visitors, thanks to a course taught, Oct. 5-6, by U.S. Army medics.
Habbaniyah Tourist Village, Iraq — Policemen here can now provide lifesaving emergency medical aid to area residents and visitors, thanks to a course taught Oct. 5-6 by U.S. Army medics.
Nearly two dozen Iraqi policemen graduated from Basic Lifesaver Course following 16 hours of intensive, hands-on training by medics from Company A, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division (Advise and Assist Brigade).
Prior to the course, HTV police could only send one or two policemen at a time to Fallujah for medical training, so having the paratroopers come to HTV allowed the entire department to be trained, said police chief, 1st Lt. Awarnce Saad Karhot.
The medical training increased the sense of professionalism the men held for their occupation, said Awarnce.
"In addition to providing security, now we can give aid to people who are injured," said Riyadh Jasim, a 34-year-old policeman from Al-Khaldiah.
Jasim and fellow graduate, Yasir Mosleh, became policemen to protect their country, neighbors and families, and now they are better able to do that, they said.
Based on the Army's Combat Lifesaver Course, the course was adapted by Company A medics to local conditions, said the curriculum's developer, Spc. Gregory Feldman, the senior line medic for the company.
"The Iraqis don't have access to some of the medical supplies we use, so we trained them on materials they were likely to have," said Feldman.
The policemen learned how to treat massive hemorrhaging, airway obstructions, respiratory and circulation emergencies, head injuries and hypothermia, he said.
Two interpreters helped bridge the language barrier, he said.
"The Iraqis really wanted to learn," said 2nd Lt. Kevin Ramirez, platoon leader of the paratroopers who assisted the IP in providing security for the two-day event. "Insurgents now target them instead of us. To wear the IP uniform, you have to be brave," he said.
Jasim, who sweated profusely during the "practical" exam, explained, "The problem they gave me was that my friend was bleeding uncontrollably, and he had lost his arm. I did not want him to die."
Company commander Capt. Troy Gammon, whose idea it was to provide the training, hoped that by training the entire department, the IP would be able to train new officers after U.S. forces were out of Iraq, he said.
"We did a thorough assessment of what skills and materials they had to make sure this training didn't end with us," said Ramirez.
The company of paratroopers is part of the Army's first organic advise and assist brigade, a unit designed specifically to promote the self-sufficiency of Iraqi security forces and governance.
1st Brigade officially replaced two Marine Regimental Combat Team headquarters that were the Ground Combat Element in Al Anbar province, Sept. 26, as part of the responsible drawdown of U.S. combat troops in Iraq.
The brigade's deployment is expected to last one year, said Gammon.
| Date Taken: | 10.14.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 10.14.2009 09:11 |
| Story ID: | 40095 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 401 |
| Downloads: | 345 |
This work, Iraqi police learn lifesaving skills from paratrooper medics, by SGT Mike MacLeod, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
