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    SFAAT corpsmen advisors growing increasingly confident in their ANA counterparts

    FORWARD OPERATING BASE NOLAY, SANGIN DISTRICT, HELMAND PROVINC, AFGHANISTAN

    03.31.2013

    Story by Sgt. Bryan Peterson 

    Regional Command Southwest

    FORWARD OPERATING BASE NOLAY, SANGIN, Afghanistan – On March 20, Afghan National Army soldiers with 5th Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 215th Corps, engaged in a firefight with insurgents in the Sangin District, during which three soldiers were wounded and required medical evacuation.

    At Forward Operating Base Nolay, ANA medics at the 2nd Brigade Aid Station readied their ambulances, medical supplies and litters.

    Medical staff with the Marine-led Security Force Assistance Advisor Team, Petty Officer 1st Class Federico Sanchez, the SFAAT’s medical chief advisor and two corpsmen, Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeffrey Casassa and Seaman Mason Heberly, immediately made their way to the aid station.

    They observed as the ANA medics assessed the casualties and ensured the medics used procedures taught during simulated mass casualty exercises in the past. They wanted to make sure the most seriously wounded were given priority because it’s “live or die at that point,” said Heberly.

    After the ANA medics loaded the casualties into ambulances bound for the next echelon of medical care at Camp Shurabak, near Camp Leatherneck, the corpsmen walked back to their living quarters confident the ANA medics are taking their advice to heart and making great strides in taking care of their own.

    For nearly two months, the corpsmen have conducted weekly mass casualty drills with the ANA medics, whose ability to treat real-life casualties on March 20 was evidence of their dedication to learning.

    Mass casualty drill

    The ANA medics are getting better, Heberly said, but there’s always room for improvement through continued drills – so the corpsmen ran another mass casualty drill at the aid station, March 26.

    Before the exercise, Heberly told role players who acted as patients what their injuries were. Some patients were missing limbs, some had gun-shot wounds and others had third-degree burns. Some patients were categorized as urgent and some were priority – urgent being the most important and priority following.

    Heberly told the ANA medics to begin treating the wounded and he stepped aside. The corpsmen have previously assisted the medics during the exercises, but as the medics become more proficient the corpsmen guide, advise and assist but step back only when necessary.

    The ANA medics moved to their patients quickly, one per person.

    The medical advisors’ ultimate goal is to get the ANA medics to move with a sense of urgency because time is not on their side. Each week, the medics accomplish the exercise faster and more efficiently.

    “We’ve really stressed the golden-hour rule to the ANA,” said Heberly.

    People wounded in combat have a much greater chance of surviving and recovering if they are treated within the first hour of being wounded.

    Communication is one of the areas Heberly deemed most important for proficiency as a medical team, which he said prevents “overlooking and overdoing things.”

    “Mass casualty [scenarios] can be chaotic,” the Winfield, Kan., native said. “Once you’re treating casualties, everyone needs to understand their role and how to best contribute. Otherwise you’re going to have too many people trying to do too many things at once.”

    After the exercise, Heberly gathered all the soldiers and reminded them blood loss can have a detrimental impact on one’s life and how important it is to get patients to a higher echelon of care as fast as possible.

    Heberly clapped in approval. Heberly said he was overall impressed with their speed, how they applied the tourniquets and how they communicated.

    “You guys did a great job,” Heberly said. “You guys improved since last time and you will continue to get better.”

    Routine medical care

    When it comes to noncombat-related issues, the ANA medics are less reliant on their U.S. counterparts.

    During a routine visit to the ANA BAS, Petty Officer 1st Class Federico Sanchez watched as the medics administered a penicillin shot to a sick soldier. Sanchez was there to explain how a blood pressure monitor works, but didn’t want to interrupt their work.

    “This is routine for them now,” said Sanchez, a Reno, Nev., native. “Every now and then, we’ll come here and they’ll be busy drawing blood or examining a patient lying down on the table. We just wait until they’re done.”

    Since the corpsmen arrived to Sangin in November 2012, the ANA BAS added six medics and two doctors, bringing the total staff to 16 enlisted and five officers.

    The medics have learned and applied the administrative tasks involved in running the aid station. Duties include keeping inventory of medical supplies and tracking patients who have visited for illnesses and injuries.

    “Now, they understand the reason for the system we’ve taught them,” Heberly said. “If they see a repeat patient, they look in their books and are able to see the patient’s history.”

    The way forward

    Two weeks ago, Sanchez was approached by the medics’ sergeant major who just arrived to the brigade. He wanted Sanchez to help him in the planning process, such as making training schedules and work rosters.

    “He really wants to learn troop leading skills,” Sanchez said. “I’m glad he showed the initiative because, though the medics know what they’re doing, they need that guidance to make them an effective, organized aid station.”

    Sanchez said it is critical the ANA medics and their leaders develop confidence in their abilities, and noted a recent incident as an example of what he is trying to accomplish.

    “I talked to one of the doctors one day about air evacuation requirements,” said Sanchez. “It so happened the next day, a local national was brought in because he was shot in the head. It turned out the bullet grazed the Afghan’s head and wasn’t deemed life threatening. The doctor, initially thinking an air evacuation was necessary, made the right call for a ground evacuation.”

    The corpsmen advisors are their counterparts’ moral support. They point the medics in the right direction and hope they make the right calls. The medics learn through trial and error during the drills, but Sanchez said there is no room for error in a real-life situation.

    “We have to reinforce, reinforce, reinforce,” said Sanchez. “They’ve got this.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.31.2013
    Date Posted: 03.31.2013 07:08
    Story ID: 104367
    Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE NOLAY, SANGIN DISTRICT, HELMAND PROVINC, AF

    Web Views: 766
    Downloads: 2

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