Photo By Staff Sgt. Whitney Amstutz | A U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Medical Group’s...... read more read more
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BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - Medical Technicians assigned to the 455th Expeditionary Medical Group’s Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility participated in a training scenario designed to refine skills and streamline critical transport processes here, Dec. 6.
The training allowed CASF Airmen to get additional hands-on training during every step of the transportation process from safely attaching a Special Medical Emergency Evacuation Device, to stabilizing monitors and necessary equipment on the SMEED, loading the patient onto an ambulance bus and finally, securing the gurney on the aircraft and prepping for takeoff.
“Training is crucial,” said Master Sgt. Jason Clark, 455 EMDG CASF flight chief. “You’re going to play like you practice and much of what we’re trying to do at this point is become quicker. We run through the process until it’s almost like muscle memory, so you’re no longer at a point where you’re thinking through the steps, now you’re thinking about possible contingencies and working toward averting them.”
Many of the medics, having been assigned to the CASF mission here for more than a month, have become comfortable with their duties and settled into a successful battle rhythm.
“What we did during the training was basically a mock scenario as if we’d had a mission,” said Senior Airman Steve Frongner, 455 EMDG CASF medical technician. “We have the Aeromedical Evacuation and the Critical Care Air Transportation teams come in and we supply the litter, equipment and manpower; that’s pretty standard.”
In spite of his real-world experience with training topics, Frongner was able to expand upon his CASF knowledgebase, picking up supplementary tools of the trade.
“I learned a lot,” Frongner said. “Floor-loading a patient was something we had not experienced or covered yet, so that was very eye-opening. I think if something were to happen, our team would be really prepared. We mesh well together and when you feel appreciated, you work harder; when you work harder, people appreciate that. It goes hand-in-hand.”
Staff Sgt. Jered Fontanos, 455 EMDG medic, echoed his colleague’s sentiments.
“As far as moving patients, that’s what we do on a daily basis so we’re pretty proficient,” Fontanos said. “We watched the process of how the critical care team would package the patient in the Intensive Care Unit, the role the ICU team would play and how we would take the handoff from the ICU, being that middle man for the transport leg and taking the patient to the aircraft to get additional care at a secondary location.”
“The part we play is definitely important,” Fontanos continued. “Without us, the patients don’t get to that next level of care. We’re not more, or less valuable than anyone else, we’re just another step in the process.”
Medics at Bagram often work closely with their coalition counterparts making cohesion and similarity of process a necessity for mission accomplishment. Common among CASF crew members is the belief in team above individual, we before I, and all for one.
“We’re equal, our Airmen and coalition partners,” Fontanos said. “If they have deficiencies, we’re going to step in and help them out. If we need help in an area, we know they’re going to step in and provide that assistance as well. It’s all about patient care.”
“Without trainings like this, the mission wouldn’t be as safe,” Fontanos continued. “You can take any group of people and ask them to carry a littler, but unless you have four people moving together as one team, knowing when to lift, when to move, you’re not getting that level of safety and efficiency the CASF team can provide. That’s why we do what we do.”
For Frongner, being deployed to Bagram and supporting the mission has brought newfound purpose and maturation to his career in the medical field.
“You come to a place like this, when you’re used to going through the motions at home-station and you realize this is the real deal,” Frongner said. “This is why I’m in the military; this is why people thank me for my service. We’re the last faces our patients see before they head home and sending them off successfully gives you an indescribable sense of pride.”
| Date Taken: | 12.06.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2014 01:23 |
| Story ID: | 150134 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Hometown: | TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 77 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Practice makes perfect: CASF team hones lifesaving skills, by SSgt Whitney Amstutz, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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