Joint exercise proves practice makes perfect

FARAH PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

11.09.2009

Story by 2nd Lt. Karl Wiest 

Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah

FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan — The Farah Provincial Reconstruction Team, the Farah Forward Surgical Team, and the 82nd Airborne all participated in a joint mass casualty exercise here at Forward Operating Base Farah, Nov. 9, 2009.

The exercise consisted of 10 mock-casualties overall with wounds ranging from severe burns and excessive blunt force trauma to simple fractures and post-traumatic stress disorder.

"It was a joint effort," said Dustin Golding, the medical platoon sergeant for 4-73 Cavalry, 4th Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division. "Together all the teams provided a great collaboration of effort and ideas that led to a successful exercise."

The overarching goal of the exercise was to get all the medical teams on the FOB working together in unison to maximize patient care.

The exercise began with casualties prepositioned in different areas of the FOB. Next, 15 trained combat life savers were dispatched to initially treat the wounded and to bring them back to the proper medical stations. Once the casualties arrived at the clinics, doctors and medics began triaging the patients and classifying them in order of precedence on who needed treatment first based on the injuries at hand.

As with all exercises, not everything went according to plan however. Certain communication issues were identified and addressed but ultimately the exercise was a success.

"We expect things to go wrong," said Golding. "Radios and such do not always work properly but the main point was that all the patients got treated, stabilized, and evacuated properly."

The medical teams plan to hold similar exercises over the next several months.

"It is always beneficial to practice," Golding said. "It makes us all a little better and it makes us all a little faster."

• Date Taken: 11.09.2009
• Date Posted: 11.27.2009 04:39
• Story ID: 42059
• Location: FARAH PROVINCE, AF