Subscribe
LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Before they can provide first aid to Afghan citizens, Afghan National Army soldiers must first treat themselves. Therefore, U.S. Army medics at Forward Operating Base Altimur offer medical refresher training to the ANA.
The course instructor, U.S. Army Sgt. Carleton Thrall, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, Task Force Storm, from Crown Point, Ind., approaches the class with an open mind. He understands that medics, regardless of whether they are ANA or coalition force soldiers, need refreshers to stay on top of their game and continue to save lives.
“It’s all perishable skills; so, even with our guys, we do a review,” said Thrall. “[This class is a] standard medical refresher. Even with [U.S.] Army medics, you’re going to have blocks of training.”
The class lasts three weeks and is a mixture of classroom instruction and hands-on training. The course combines the medical knowledge of ANA and coalition force medical personnel.
“This is our first class with [the ANA],” said Thrall. “As far as medics go - for basic trauma and basic combat medic stuff, [ANA medics] are very proficient. They can do their job.”
Thrall admits ANA medics have taught him some things as well when it comes to relations with Afghan people.
“They’ve taught me a lot as far as their language and as far as their readiness to learn,” said Thrall. “They’re very warm, very patient people, and they are very interested in what we are doing. The more time I spend with them, the more opportunities they have to show me things.”
TF Storm medics are relatively new to this area of operations, having only arrived a month or two ago. They still are learning how much the ANA already knows and where they need the most improvement.
“Since we just started classes, it gives us an assessment of where the last unit left off [training the ANA],” said Thrall. “The first day we did an introduction ... a basic assessment of medical skills. We did an overview of hemorrhages, airway, breathing and circulation. Then, we did anatomy and physiology in the afternoon, just ... to see if we are all on the same page.”
This class is just the beginning for joint training between ANA and coalition forces to get their medics on the same page. Thrall said building a basic foundation will help him steer the training in whatever direction he thinks the ANA medics need to work on for the next training block.
“The main points we decided to focus on for this training are the things that gave us the easiest way [to assess present skills],” said Thrall. “We also do knowledge-based assessments to see where they are ... Over this deployment, we’ll come up with classes that will help not just review stuff but help them learn more to be better at their job.”
The ANA medics in the class performed joint missions with coalition forces before.
One ANA medic in the class, Sgt. Abdul Hadi from 1st Kandak, 4th Brigade, 203rd ANA Corps, treated a coalition force soldier during a real-world mission and carried him to safety for further medical treatment. Even with his previous battlefield experience, Hadi thinks he has much to learn from TF Storm medics and is excited to see how he progresses throughout the class.
“I’ve had one year of medical training,” said Hadi. “I have studied in this class, [and] I’ve learned some new methods of how to manage airways and also how to control bleeding.”
In the same way the U.S. Army has a method of training called “train the trainer,” during which medics are taught certain skills they teach other soldiers, Hadi recognizes things in the class he will teach his fellow ANA medics.
“I am able to teach ANA medics things about airways and needle chest decompression,” said Hadi.
In such short time, ANA medics impressed Thrall enough to make him wonder just what he can teach them in the next block of instruction.
“This first three-week block [of instruction is designed] to assess where everyone is at this point - establish common communication,” said Thrall. “They do all sorts of hemorrhage control; they are really proficient at tying bandages. [Their proficiency] is going to pose ... a challenge [for me] at the end of the three weeks of where to go next.”
| Date Taken: | 12.01.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2010 16:10 |
| Story ID: | 61813 |
| Location: | LOGAR PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 43 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, TF Storm offers refresher to ANA medics, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT