Army Watercraft Company (Provisional) and 371st SB medics conduct HALO exercise in the Arabian Sea

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kimberly Hill | A helicopter with Charlie Company, 238th Aviation Medevac, approaches the deck of the James A. Loux, USAV LSV-6 during a helicopter medical evacuation training exercise Nov. 7, 2013 off the coast of Kuwait Naval Base, Kuwait. The exercise gave medics with the 371st Sustainment Brigade and the crew of the LSV-6 training in at sea helicopter medical evacuation.  

KUWAIT NAVAL BASE, KUWAIT

12.02.2013

Story by Staff Sgt. Kimberly Hill 

371st Sustainment Brigade

KUWAIT NAVAL BASE, Kuwait - The crew of the James A. Loux, U.S. Army Vessel Logistical Support Vessel 6 (USAV LSV-6) with the Army Watercraft Company (Provisional), conducted helicopter air medical and logistical operations and medical drills with soldiers of the 371st Sustainment Brigade and Charlie Company, 238th Aviation Medevac off the coast of Kuwait Naval Base, Kuwait, Nov. 7, 2013.

The medical exercise featured live helicopter evacuations from the deck of LSV-6 as well as medical drills and scenarios, taking into account the various safety hazards that can be found on an Army watercraft vessel.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Patrick Oliver, the medical officer for the LSV-6, began coordinating with the aviation unit a few months prior to the exercise and with the help of the deck medic, came up with different scenarios to include in the training, he said.

Rough seas, engine room explosions, mechanical failures, attacks from hostile vessels, and even falls from ladders were realistic scenarios on a watercraft vessel that were included in the medical drills, said Oliver.

The exercise gave some of the medics of the 371st SB their first experience with live helicopter medevac procedures, which is extremely valuable knowledge for their role as combat medics, said Spc. Eleanor Shaw, a combat medic with the 371st SB, who is currently assigned as the medic of the Churubusco, USAV Landing Craft Utility 2013.

“68 Whiskeys [combat medics] have a broad knowledge of emergency management but in most cases that are severe they need to be taken to a hospital setting,” the New York native added.

The exercise also gave medics from the 371st SB firsthand experience with not only helicopter medevac operations, but also the medical risks that can be found on watercraft vessels.

“As a medic you could be put in any situation, so currently I’m working on a boat. I wanted the opportunity to come out, because if I’m ever in this situation for real, I’ll be by myself – so I needed to know how the operation was done to the fullest extent,” said Shaw.

• Date Taken: 12.02.2013
• Date Posted: 12.03.2013 01:33
• Story ID: 117635
• Location: KUWAIT NAVAL BASE, KW