Photo By Sgt. Cassandra Monroe | Sgt. Jason Owens, a military policeman with the 108th Military Police Company (Air...... read more read more
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CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq – A large explosion sounded across Contingency Operating Base Speicher, July 2, with emergency medical first responders chasing the explosive sound and arriving on the scene, tending to victims. The situation at the scene could’ve been overwhelming, but the quick response was for the first responders on base.
The explosive detonation was planned and the victims suffered nothing but moulage and fake wounds as part of a base-wide mass casualty exercise conducted to train and test emergency medical first responders stationed on base.
A mass casualty exercise has two components to it, said Col. John Alvarez, the deputy commander for administration and operations for the 21st Combat Support Hospital and Task Force 21, which is responsible for the medical care given in Division-North. The first component is an internal training exercise for the 21st CSH. The CSH receives new physicians and nurses every six months and mass casualty exercises test their skills to handle six or more trauma patients at one time. The exercises also provide an opportunity for more experienced medical professionals to train and oversee the actions of the newer medic personnel.
The second component is cooperation. The base-wide exercise allows the 21st CSH to intertwine with the base fire department, the Base Defense Operations Center at division headquarters, as well as the Provost Marshal office, explosive ordinance disposal teams and the ambulance and emergency services, added Alvarez.
The teams conducted two mass casualty exercises, the first being the day before the actual testing exercise, where medical physicians and medics who have been here for six months demonstrated the process. During the second part of the exercise, the newer medical personnel performed the tasks under the observation of the soon to be outgoing personnel.
After the explosion, which simulated indirect fire, the teams arrived in a hurry to immediately evaluate the scene and assess the victims. Military police and fire fighters questioned the victims and checked their vital signs and consciousness. A temporary holding area was set up for on-the-scene treatments. Within a few minutes, an ambulance arrived, ready to be loaded with the victims from the detonation.
“The flow starts at the casualty collection points where we work with the fire service members to triage patients and categorize them from least to worst case,” said Alvarez. “They are brought to our emergency room where they are triaged a second time and are either moved to a place where they can be stabilized or are moved immediately into the emergency room. We prepare the victims in the emergency room so they can be ready to be sent to the operating room, radiology room for X-rays or simply in an in-patient holding center until they are stabilized and further assessed. If the patients need further medical care, we will call the medical evacuation helicopter teams and the patients will be sent to the next level of surgical services at Joint Base Balad.”
To a bystander, the scene at the combat support hospital was one of chaos: people running every which way, pushing carts full of medical equipment or moving patients. But in the medical world, this is organized chaos, where the doctors know exactly what they are doing especially with enough practice and training.
“It teaches them to do and it teaches them to train,” said Alvarez.
After a couple hours of patient treatments and medical drills and after all patients were taken care of, the medical teams met for a meeting to discuss what went well with the exercise.
“I think it was very good training and we worked a lot,” said Staff Sgt. Trenishia Humphrey, a paralegal noncommissioned officer with the 21st CSH. Humphrey worked in the exercise as a team member on the manpower pool. She was responsible for taking patients off vehicles and litter carrying them into the hospital. “We learned to work under a lot of stress and we also worked with patients that were hysterical, so we had to calm them down as well.
“It was really good practice. What I took away from this is how to be a better manpower team member so that patients can get the appropriate care in time.”
By practicing and conducting these drills, it will hone the medical response skills for the Soldiers working at the CSH, as well as the emergency first responders and division response teams on base.
“I hope that my Soldiers take a number of things from this exercise,” said Alvarez.
“First, are the basic medical skills. Second is team building, where they can learn their equipment and learn from their peers’ strengths and weaknesses. Third, understanding where they are in the medical systems services on base, so that they understand how patients are coming to them and how they can pass on the patient to the next section.”
Because these Soldiers and civilians participated in this exercise, they had the chance to work on their skills, become familiar with their equipment and run through communication drills with other first responder agencies. All of the practice and training will ensure that these teams are prepared for worst case scenarios, and will build a solid, knowledgeable base for the incoming team at the 21st CSH.
| Date Taken: | 07.05.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.06.2010 11:23 |
| Story ID: | 52427 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 183 |
| Downloads: | 119 |
This work, Mass casualty exercise ensures first response and medical care for Soldiers and civilians, by SGT Cassandra Monroe, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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