ANA soldiers graduate combat medic course

Photo By Staff Sgt. Alfred V. Lopez | U.S. Navy Cmdr. Michael Swanson, the Regimental Combat Team 5 surgeon and native of Dallas, presents an Afghan National Army soldier his combat medics course certificate of completion during a graduation ceremony here, Jan 7. Twenty-one soldiers with various kandaks, or battalions, of the 1st Brigade, 215th Corps, completed the inaugural course. Corpsmen with the Regimental Combat Team 5 and Combat Logistics Battalion 1 embedded training teams taught critical lifesaving skills to eager ANA soldiers during the five-week course. ANA soldiers learned preventative medicine, supply procedures, patient aftercare and clinic operations and procedures through hands-on, practical application methods.  

CAMP DWYER, HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

01.09.2012

Story by Cpl. Alfred V. Lopez 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

CAMP DWYER, Helmand province, Afghanistan – The Afghan National Army in southern Helmand has added newly certified combat medics to its ranks.

Twenty-one soldiers with various kandaks, or battalions, of the 1st ANA Brigade, 215th Corps, graduated from the brigade’s inaugural combat medics course during a here, Jan. 7.

Throughout the five-week course, instructors taught the eager ANA soldiers preventative medicine, supply procedures, patient aftercare and clinic operations and procedures, using hands-on, practical application methods.

“We also taught the soldiers how to treat patients at the point of injury,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Israel Rosa, a medical advisor with the Regimental Combat Team 5 embedded training team and 26-year-old native of Stanton, Texas.

In addition to on-scene combat lifesaving techniques, students learned how to request a medical evacuation and provide continued care en-route to the next echelon of care.

“The medics have learned a basic skill set to provide critical care on the battlefield,” said Chief Rob Longbottom, a chief medical advisor with Combat Logistics Battalion 1 and 35-year-old native of Alton, Ill. “They should strive now to develop this skill and share their knowledge with their peers.”

The combat medic course is in the process of becoming an ANA operated course as the brigade’s Marine and Navy advisors gradually shift into more of a supporting role.

“Now that we have successfully completed the first course, we can fine tune it and move forward with the next phase,” explained Rosa.

The medical advisors selected two potential instructors from soldiers who demonstrated an exceptional understanding of the concept of combat lifesaving.

“Not only did they understand and demonstrate proficiency with basic medic skills, they also had an understanding of why certain procedures are done,” Longbottom said. “They understand the ‘reason behind the rhyme’, which is an important trait to possess as an instructor.”

The completion of the course provides the brigade and its kandaks with more soldiers capable of providing critical, lifesaving care for their fellow soldiers operating in southern Helmand.

“The medics course will help us become more independent,” explains Maj. Abdul Baqi, the surgeon in charge of medical operations with 1/215. “We will be able to treat our own soldiers with our own medics.”

Editor’s note: Regimental Combat Team 5 is assigned to 2nd Marine Division (Forward), which heads Task Force Leatherneck. The task force serves as the ground combat element of Regional Command (Southwest) and works in partnership with the Afghan National Security Forces and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations. The unit is dedicated to securing the Afghan people, defeating insurgent forces and enabling ANSF assumption of security responsibilities within its area of operations in order to support the expansion of stability, development and legitimate governance.

• Date Taken: 01.09.2012
• Date Posted: 01.09.2012 03:51
• Story ID: 82178
• Location: CAMP DWYER, HELMAND PROVINCE, AF