Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Pietrantoni | New York National Guard Sgt. Amanda Nelson, a healthcare sargeant assigned to the...... read more read more
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FOZ DO IGUAZU, BRAZIL – Fifteen New York Army National Guard medics and physicians assistants took part in a South America’s largest military humanitarian response exercise held in Brazil from August 12 to 18.
The Soldiers, from the Queensbury-based 466th Medical Company, Area Support joined 100 other foreign military personal from 13 countries, and 1,700 Brazilians for Operation Parana III, conducted in Brazil’s Parana State.
New York National Guard Maj. Shelly Respecki, the commander to the 466th, said that working with the Brazilian medical personnel was a great experience.
“We really enjoyed the opportunity to integrate into the Brazilian medical team and see how other countries really treat and care for their Soldiers,” Respecki said.
“The entire staff really took us all in and were open to a collaboration of sharing best practices, and techniques,” she said.
“It gave us an opportunity to see what our strengths are and take a closer look at what we need to improve on and make better,” Respecki added.
This is the first time that the United States Army has participated in the exercise since its inception in 2017.
The exercise simulated a catastrophic flood in the city of Santa Helena which triggered various humanitarian functions such as emergency medical treatment.
The 466th Soldiers worked alongside the Brazilian Army medical personnel to open a role II field hospital. These hospitals provide advanced medical support such as advanced trauma management, emergency treatment and surgical care.
New York National Guard 1st Lt. Justin Perez, a registered nurse, who works at the Stoney Brook Hospital intensive care unit in civilian life, said he learned a lot working in the field hospital.
“It was an incredible experience, just to be able to see how the Brazilians in a medical setting work and how much we were able to learn from them and vice versa,” Perez said.
“We were each teaching each other classes and even though we had that language barrier, we were eventually able to build up the chemistry a lot quicker than expected to be able to work cohesively together,” Perez said.
U.S. and Brazilian army medical personnel collaborated on emergency medical treatment outside the field hospital such responding to mass casualties, medical evacuations, first aid and trauma care.
The 466th deployed to Kuwait in 2021 and 2022 in support of Army forces in the region, so some of the Soldiers brought that experience with them.
The Americans also assisted their Brazilian counterparts in helicopter medical evacuation missions.
That was a great experience, according to Sgt. Brion Pasquale, a 466th combat medic and an emergency medical technician in civilian life.
The participating militaries—among which are part of the Conference of American Armies, an international military organization made up of Armies from the American continents, which hosts regular conferences and exercises.
The Soldiers from the 466th were joined by two public affairs Soldiers and a staff planner from the New York Army National Guard's 53rd Troop Command for the exercise.
Maj. Robert Freed, who has a master’s degree in emergency management, was asked to serve as a planner in the exercise’s joint operations center, where he managed a staff of five Brazilian officers.
Participating in this exercise “demonstrated the expeditionary capacity of U.S. National Guard units to successfully augment with foreign militaries during humanitarian emergencies abroad,” Freed said.
Brazilian Army 2nd Lt., Jemy Chen, an army doctor, said he enjoyed working with the Americans.
“Working with the U.S. and sharing different techniques and equipment in these emergency situations was a positive experience that you can’t get in our everyday training,” Chen said.
“Being able to work through different problems despite the language barrier in extreme situations only make each of us more prepared for anything that comes up.,” he added.
Pasquale, worked with Chen, and said he was able to apply some of the techniques he’s learned in his civilian job to the training exercise.
“It was fun to share some of my real-life experience into the exercise with my Brazilian counterparts. We had some issues with the stretcher going into the ambulance but were able to mix different techniques to find a way that we all felt comfortable with,” Pasquale said.
“It was also fun to ride in an ambulance in a foreign country an experience that I’ll never forget, he added.
The Americans, according to Brazilian Army Major Luis Gustavo, said that the Americans integrated well with their Brazilian counterparts,
The Americans also approached the exercise more seriously than the Brazilians do, he said.
“They go deeper into detail. I’ve been to several exercises before, and this has been the best one,” he said.
Work with the Americans and other international troops – which included Soldiers from Mexico, Spain, and Columbia among many others – was also good for his Soldiers, Gustavo said.
“My troops do not have the international experience, and most have never left Brazil. So, they have the opportunity to work with troops from another country, so that they feel more involved, “Gustavo said.
The deployment wasn’t all work.
After the exercise was completed, the Brazilian Army sponsored a trip for all the participants to visit the Iguazu Falls, one of the largest waterfall systems in the world and the Itaipu Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world.
Perez was also able to teach and play different card games with other Brazilian Soldiers.
“It was a good way to kind of build that bond together on our downtime so that when we do work in a type of an emergency environment, we already have that that trust in each other,” Perez said.
“Hopefully we'll have some exercises in the United States that we'll be able to host the Brazilians here in New York to work with us because it was it was great working together,” he added.
| Date Taken: | 08.25.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 08.25.2023 13:12 |
| Story ID: | 452162 |
| Location: | FOZ DO IGUAZU, PARANá, BR |
| Hometown: | QUEENSBURY, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 186 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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