Photo By Spc. Nathan Arellano Tlaczani | U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 526 Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team,...... read more read more
Subscribe
MIHAIL KOGĂLNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania – Soldiers assigned to the 1st Armored Division integrated with French and Spanish Allies for a large-scale mass casualty exercise at Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, Romania, April 23, 2025, to display theater medical evacuation unit-level readiness, ensuring readiness and strong relations along NATO’s eastern flank.
During the exercise, U.S. and NATO allies stationed on MKAB responded to a simulated missile attack, providing immediate care to casualties and triaging patients in need of further care.
U.S. Army Spc. Abigail Dage, a Religious Affairs Specialist (56M) assigned to 526 Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), expresses the importance of mass casualty exercises for Soldiers and Allies.
“Working out of a Role 2 field environment is career-altering, and the more you know, the better you get at treating casualties,” said Dage.
Soldiers used this opportunity to evaluate their ability to activate emergency response personnel, establish and maintain communications, triage casualties, provide patient care, report 9-line requests using tactical systems, load and offload casualties on medical evacuation platforms and increase interoperability with NATO Allies.
Servicemembers applied their medical knowledge to coordinate information gained throughout the exercise between the Base Defense Operations Center (BDOC), Military Police, Combat Medic Specialists, and the Chaplain and Religious Affairs Specialists.
Charlie Medical Company 1st Sgt. Dennie Taylor, assigned to 526 Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), expounds on the connection between how the repetition in practice improves readiness in real-life scenarios.
“Though there might not be combat here, the war we face today might be a situation where we all [NATO countries] have to care for our Soldiers,” said Taylor. “Regardless if it's a threat or an accident that occurs where service members need the care we can trust our NATO forces that are here that we trained with to provide that care.”
During the exercise, the survival rate is based on time and movement to higher echelons of care. After responding to initial casualty reports and reporting if the scene is considered safe for EMTs, the incident command and BDOC will coordinate an ongoing response concluding with the successful treatment or evacuation of all patients from the base and Romanian Explosive Ordnance Disposal clearing the missile for exploitation.
Throughout this simulated process, the Chaplain and Religious Affairs Specialists worked alongside the Combat Medic Specialists by prioritizing patients who were expected to pass from this life to the next, while assisting the medic staff.
1st. Lt. Justin Philostin, a Chaplain assigned to 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Mobile Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), comments on how necessary this training is for all involved.
“It's always good to get opportunities to train as you fight,” said Philostin.
Being able to receive feedback from a casualty you’ve just treated on what they would want to hear from the Chaplain in real time “helps build my readiness and reassures me that what we are doing is important for the Soldiers that are in that room and possibly their family members,” said Philostin.
As the training concluded, it reassured every component that had a role in the exercise that they are continuously doing the work to improve their readiness and warfighting capabilities, and setting the standards of a large-scale force.
“I am extremely proud of how MKAB performed today. My expectations are always very high, and they exceeded those expectations today,” said Taylor. “I’m going to bed tonight very proud of the team we have here and with a lot of confidence in knowing that if a situation were to occur, we could seamlessly work together to help the servicemembers that are here, as well as allied forces.”
Imitating the strenuous obstacles that will emerge in combat allows forces to familiarize themselves with the mental and physical stakes in unexpected conditions and to affirm their positions along the eastern flank and continue the mission.
| Date Taken: | 04.23.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.24.2025 10:13 |
| Story ID: | 496055 |
| Location: | MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, RO |
| Hometown: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and NATO Allies Conduct a Mass Casualty Exercise in Romania, by SPC Rayonne Bissant, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
