Moroccan soldiers complete first responder course

Photo By Staff Sgt. Cody Harding | Soldiers from the Moroccan coy navigate a ditch while carrying a casualty to a medical evacuation point at the end of a training exercise during a four-day first responder course at Camp Novo Selo, Dec. 20. The course was taught by the Forward Command Post medical platoon and was modeled after the combat lifesaver course given to U.S. soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Cody Harding, 4th Public Affairs Detachment)  

CAMP NOVO SELO, KOSOVO

12.20.2013

Story by Staff Sgt. Cody Harding 

KFOR Regional Command East

CAMP NOVO SELO, Kosovo – Moroccan soldiers at Camp Novo Selo completed a four-day first responder course taught by U.S. Army medics with the Forward Command Post, Dec. 20.

The class was the first medical course the Moroccan coy received since their arrival to Kosovo.

Moroccan army Sgt. Hamidi Ali, a soldier with the Moroccan coy, said he enjoyed the training he received from his U.S. counterparts and hopes to attend similar training in the near future.

"This was the first time we had seen training like this,” said Ali. “For us, we didn't have any information to treat a casualty on the field of battle [as a first responder]."

The course was adapted from the combat lifesaver course that U.S. soldiers receive and includes instruction on how to give first aid, how to move a casualty to safety, apply tourniquets and bandages and administer intravenous fluids to a patient. Students also learned how to fill out casualty cards and perform requests for medical evacuation.

U.S. Army Sgt. Tristen Starr, a medic with the FCP medical platoon, said it is important for their multinational partners to learn how to treat a casualty as they may be the first ones to respond to a medical emergency.

“It helps facilitate and ensure that everyone knows the care we provide,” Starr, a Columbus, Ga., native, said. “Not everyone has as many medics as the U.S. coy has, so when they're out performing their mission, they know how to treat and evacuate [casualties] on our platforms."

The class ended with a practical exercise that tested all of the skills the soldiers had learned: treating casualties in a stressful environment, calling in medical support and evacuating casualties to an ambulance while relaying the situation to the U.S. medical crew without an interpreter.

"It was really good training,” Ali said. “It was the first time we understood how necessary it [first responder care] was to save a person on the battlefield."

• Date Taken: 12.20.2013
• Date Posted: 12.24.2013 04:43
• Story ID: 118609
• Location: CAMP NOVO SELO, ZZ
• Hometown: COLUMBUS, GA, US