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FORWARD OPERATING BASE SABIT QADAM, Afghanistan – A Shock Trauma Platoon from Alpha Surgical Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 15 (Forward) became fully operational, Nov. 26, in order to provide life-saving medical care to the Marines conducting counterinsurgency operations near Sangin, Afghanistan.
A Shock Trauma Platoon is a small field hospital consisting of a ten-person emergency medicine team designed to be mobile and kept close to the forward edge of the battlefield. The STP provides rapid medical treatment to critically-injured service members.
"We requested the Shock Trauma Platoon to be here," said Lt. Cmdr. Patrick M. Hare, battalion surgeon with 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. "The better medical capabilities we have here the better we can support our Marines, especially in such a kinetic area."
As 3/5 Marines continue to take the fight to the enemy near Sangin, injured Marines will rely heavily on the support of the STP’s Navy corpsmen, doctors and nurses for emergency medical care.
"This is where 3/5 is getting hit the hardest," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Kelly D. Talavera, leading petty officer of the Sangin STP, Alpha Surgical Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 15 (Forward), 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward). "This is where we are needed the most."
There are different levels of medical treatment, the first being medical response from buddy aid or a corpsman. If the injuries require advanced care, the patient is taken to the STP, which then stabilizes the injured patient until he can be transported to a higher level of care facility, explained Lt. Cmdr. Michael R. Melia, officer in charge of the Sangin STP, Alpha Surgical Company, CLR-15 (FWD), 1st MLG (FWD).
Marines in Sangin would likely be flown to the United Kingdom’s Bastion Hospital should they need advanced medical care.
The United Kingdom’s Bastion Hospital is one of the largest medical facilities in theater. The hospital treats everything from cuts to gunshot wounds and improvised explosive device related injuries. Numerous patients from all over Afghanistan are transferred to Bastion for treatment. Once they are medically stable, the patient will then be sent to a medical facility that will provide long-term medical care.
"[The] STP is trained to start resuscitative medicine," said Melia, 37, from Farmingville, N.Y. The STP faces battlefield injuries such as collapsed lungs, missing limbs and gunshot wounds, he explained.
"With us being here, they have a greater chance on surviving," said Talavera. "We can pump them full of blood, oxygen and anything they need to survive to make the flight to Bastion."
Having the skills and equipment to administer crucial fluids and oxygen to the patient can mean the difference between life and death.
"What [the] STP brings to the table is the ability to prolong the longevity of that patient," explained Hare. "To administer blood will extend the golden hour for that patient."
The STP provides medical care to Marines and sailors, as well as Afghan National Army soldiers and local nationals.
"Whenever a local national comes to our gate seeking medical attention, we gladly help them," Hare explained with a smile.
| Date Taken: | 11.26.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.07.2010 00:30 |
| Story ID: | 61478 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE SABIT QADAM, AF |
| Web Views: | 286 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
This work, Shock Trauma Platoon arrives in Sangin to save lives, by Sgt Shannon Yount, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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