Iraqi army conducts historic training of Border Enforcement medics

Photo By Staff Sgt. James Kennedy Benjamin | Master Sgt. Adel Ghedhaieb, an Iraqi army instructor, talks his students through a scenario on assessing a casualty at the Shaiba Training Center Oct 13. The 12 Department of Border Enforcement students are the first DBE workers to be certified as combat medics by the IA.  

BASRA, IRAQ

10.13.2010

Story by Spc. James Kennedy Benjamin 

305th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BASRA, Iraq – After several months of planning and coordination between the Department of Border Enforcement, Iraqi army, and U.S. Division-South, the Iraqi security forces accomplished another milestone in their development when 12 DBE personnel were certified as combat medics by Iraqi army instructors at Shaiba Training Center Oct. 13.

The DBE workers completed an intense three-week medic course and most are scheduled to continue training through early November for certification as basic medic instructors.

“This is the first time that the DBE and IA have worked together from a medical standpoint,” said Maj. Casey Carver, the medical evacuation and plans officer for the 1st Infantry Division and United States Division-South, and a resident of Manhattan, Kan.

The course, which started shortly after Ramadan, consists of lectures, hands on training, and written examinations at the end of each section. U.S. medical personnel assisted with the planning and logistics for the course, but the instruction was conducted solely by Iraqi medics.

Medical training is particularly important for the Dept. of Border Enforcement. Unlike the Iraqi army or police, DBE personnel are stationed away from cities where there are advanced medical care facilities, Carver said.

“If something happens to them, they can’t get to a hospital or medical facility real quick,” Carver said.

Iraq army Master Sgt. Adel Ghedhaieb, one of the trainers, said the class will pay dividends down the road.

“They will learn how to teach the course to other students,” Ghedhaieb said. “This way they can teach more people how to save lives.”

Hesham Ahmed, a DBE student, agreed.

“The course teaches us skills that will help save lives,” he said. “We learn things from giving basic aid for cuts and burns to giving IVs and stitching up victims.”

Ahmed said the course also made him and his fellow students look at their health differently by teaching the importance of hygiene and maintaining a clean and sterile working environment.

The joint course at Shaiba is another example of Iraqis taking the lead as U.S. troops have moved into an advise and assist role for Operation New Dawn.

The U.S. provided the training center with some course materials, Carver said, and they will continue to give recommendations on how the DBE can get the basic medic course set up in different regions of Iraq.

“That would be the ultimate goal,” Carver said. “We will leave the DBE with something sustainable that they can continue to build on over the next few years. Getting the basic medic course going in all the regions of Iraq will be one of the lasting impacts that the U.S. will have on the ISF.”

• Date Taken: 10.13.2010
• Date Posted: 10.19.2010 13:41
• Story ID: 58433
• Location: BASRA, IQ