Courtesy Photo | Spc. Sara Lenzo, a Waterbury, Conn., native, and a combat medic with C Company, Task...... read more read more
By Spc. Robert M. England, Warrior Brigade Public Affairs Office
2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq – A man laid motionless on a table, as soldiers worked to locate a fracture in his leg. Pressure was applied to the tissue around his left kneecap, and he lets out an unexpected chuckle. Apparently he is ticklish.
The man on the table was an Iraqi army soldier, and the fracture was a simulated condition set by an instructor as part of a training exercise.
Soldiers from C Company “Cobras,” Task Force 225th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, conducted advanced medical training with their Iraqi army counterparts Oct. 2-7 at FOB Warhorse, Diyala province, Iraq. This was a train-the-trainer course, created at the request of the 5th IA Division’s medical company commander and division surgeon.
“We have talked to the medical company commander for the 5th IA Division as well as their division surgeon to create a program to further help them train some of their soldiers [who] can then train the rest of them,” said Capt. Christopher Cowan, a Pawleys Island, S.C., native, and the battalion surgeon for TF 225th BSB, 2nd AAB, 25th ID.
The course began with classroom instruction to familiarize the IA medics with medical terminology and the types of injuries they are likely to see in combat situations. Afternoon sessions involved hands-on, step-by-step tutorials, allowing them to administer care to simulated casualties using various tools and procedures introduced in the classroom segment.
“We started out with classroom training to help them identify different types of injuries – trauma, laceration, fractures – and in the afternoons we do the hands-on portion,” Cowan said. “Today we are teaching them about fractures and sprains, and some of the different splinting techniques to manage these injuries on the battlefield until they transport the wounded soldiers back to the company or hospital.”
The idea for the course came after the IA medical company commander and division surgeon expressed a desire for their soldiers to receive more advanced trauma training. Cowan said that according to U.S. data, one of the major killers on the battlefield during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is excessive bleeding, specifically extremity hemorrhaging. This led the Cobra medical team to address fractures and hemorrhaging in the curriculum.
“After talking with them we decided to focus the initial course on trying to treat the number one preventable cause of death,” Cowan said. “With common causes of hemorrhage being femur fractures or pelvic fractures we decided to include it as part of our course – it’s something they specifically asked for.”
This medical training course is part of the brigade’s advise and assist mission as well as its diminishing role in Iraqi affairs. The “train-the-trainer” model allows IA soldiers to learn crucial skills from American forces while still maintaining control as they share this training with their fellow soldiers.
“The concept behind the course is a train-the-trainer concept,” said Staff Sgt. Stephenie Kaauamo, a Tucson, Ariz., native, and a combat medic with C Company, TF 225th BSB. “Hopefully it helps them to train their soldiers, so that we can get this to where we give them all the materials, all the classroom instruction, and they can lead the next block of instruction.”
The IA medics arrived with open minds and positive attitudes, traits that are conducive to absorbing new information. Healthy working relationships were established quickly despite the communication issues caused by the obvious language barrier.
“They are doing well, they pick it up pretty quick,” said Spc. Sara Lenzo, a Waterbury, Conn., native, and a combat medic with C Company, TF 225th BSB. “I mean the language barrier is probably the toughest part but we’re making it work.”
“The IA has relied on us for a while, but now we’re just passing off the torch and passing on the skills that we know and that we have so that they’ll be better prepared for when we leave,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 10.04.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 10.11.2010 08:18 |
| Story ID: | 57874 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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