Courtesy Photo | Sgt. "Wild" Bill Bradshaw (left) of Hurst, Texas and Sgt. Lawrence Austin (right) of...... read more read more
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2nd BCT, 10th Mountain Division PAO
PRESS RELEASE
COMBINED PATROL BASE LION'S DEN, Iraq - In the military, medics are a valuable asset. To the Iraqi Army, they are a necessity that has not yet been met.
To help the Iraqi Army, Soldiers from the Military Transition Team, 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) work daily to train the Iraqi troops of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division on tasks like securing roads and buildings and especially first aid.
Noticeably missing from the Iraqi ranks are medics which should be organic to any unit.
An Iraqi medical supply specialist – the only one in the 3rd Battalion – can often be found working with the MTT medical noncommissioned officer in charge, Sgt. William "Wild Bill" Bradshaw of Hurst, Texas and Spc. Marek Marczinski of Mattydale, N.Y., in order to maintain the health of the Iraqi soldiers inside his battalion's headquarters at Patrol Base Lion's Den in western Baghdad. With no actual medics assigned to the Iraqi battalion, the MTT combat medics act both to train the Iraqis and care for them if they are wounded in combat.
As new Iraqi soldiers arrive at the unit, Bradshaw and Marczinski teach a day-long basic combat lifesaver course. The course gives new Iraqi troops some basic knowledge of what types of wounds they can expect to see, Bradshaw said, and how best to treat them in the quickest possible way, while maintaining a tactical posture.
The week between Christmas and New Year's Day saw the next level of medical training and instruction conducted at the Lion's Den – a three-day combat casualty care course.
Additional instructors came in - 1st Lt. Martin Stewart of Bryan, Texas, physician's assistant for Task Force 1-89, Sgt. Lawrence Austin of Philadelphia, and Spc. George Vanderhoof of Orlando, Fla., - joining the MTT medics to provide instruction.
This course gave instructions for advanced methods of self-aid, buddy-aid and making or using improvised medical equipment. The leadership from the Iraqi battalion sent five soldiers from each company to attend the training.
Despite the language barrier, the class went off without a hitch, Bradshaw said. The IA soldiers impressed their teachers with their ability to absorb the material. They displayed to the instructors their ability to use what they had learned in different scenarios. The type of wounds discussed were those they could encounter on mission and treatable on the battlefield, including puncture and laceration wounds, amputations and closed head injuries.
Despite the increasing knowledge of medical procedures, levels of medical supplies remain a problem for the IA battalion.
Stewart and the U.S. combat medics addressed this directly by integrating exhaustive training in the hasty manufacture of emergency medical supplies. IA soldiers were taught to make splints for broken bones from used MRE boxes.
One very enterprising jundi, or soldier, created a tourniquet using a strip of cloth, a sturdy five-inch stick, and the hard plastic top of a water bottle. Put together, with three properly placed knots, the soldier had a tourniquet every bit as effective as the "fancy American stuff," as one IA soldier called it.
"This program can be provided at little to no cost," said Stewart. "These soldiers have real hardships getting supplies."
Steps were taken to provide top-notch medical training with the latest techniques and doctrine Stewart said, but with the focus on improvisation, a true requirement for the supply-challenged IA soldiers.
"These constraints did not deter the IA troops and they charged head-on and accomplished the training with no complaints or hesitation," Bradshaw said.
Through the interpreters, the MTT medics challenged the men to spread the knowledge they received throughout their units.
One of the training events consisted of repeated patrols through the Lion's Den training area, where the IA soldiers were "attacked" by two of the instructors during which three IA soldiers were assessed as casualties with simulated wounds.
The instructors ensured that the unit returned fire, routing the attackers, then graded the IA soldiers on their ability to care for the wounded and evacuate them.
"The exercises were done at 'combat speed,' meaning that it was done from start of the attack to the evacuation of the wounded," Bradshaw said.
The MTT medics were highly impressed by results of these exercises, he added.
Friendships between the IA soldiers and their American MTT trainers were forged as a result of this training and a sense of camaraderie created.
"By teaching the IA jundis these essential combat skills, the MTT has improved the fighting prowess of the battalion and have increased their ability to take on the enemy on their own," Bradshaw said.
Through this and future courses, the MTT will have leave behind both the concept and ability of the IA soldiers to 'preserve the fighting force,' which is the creed of the Army Medical Corps.
| Date Taken: | 01.16.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 01.16.2007 07:29 |
| Story ID: | 8806 |
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| Web Views: | 231 |
| Downloads: | 134 |
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