Aid station always ready to save lives

Photo By Sgt. Eddie Reyes | Spc. Michael Clay, Company F, 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and Pfc. Dustin Spangler, Company B, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd BCT, practice intravenous catheter insertion during a weekly Combat Lifesaver course held at the aid station here Wednesday.  

ISKANDARIYAH, IRAQ

05.04.2006

Courtesy Story

DVIDS Hub       

FOB ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq - Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, are helping to keep Soldiers in the fight at the aid station on Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah.

"Our main goal here at the aid station is to conserve the fighting strength and get Soldiers back in the fight," said Sgt. 1st Class Denny Brown, combat medic, HHC, 1-67 AR.

As an echelon-one aid station, the clinic is responsible for diagnosing injuries and stabilizing trauma victims until medically evacuated to a facility with the proper equipment to treat the injuries.

"Even though we have no surgical capabilities, we play a major role in saving Soldiers" lives if they suffer a traumatic injury," said Brown. "The first few minutes after a traumatic injury are the most crucial. The treatment the combat medic performs at the scene, and the treatment our aid station conducts when they get here, could mean the difference between life and death."

One way the aid station is helping to increase survivability in the first few minutes of a trauma injury is by conducting Combat Lifesaver courses every week.

"One of our goals is to ensure that all Soldiers have the knowledge and skills to save lives on the battlefield," said Staff Sgt. Dominic Smith, combat medic, HHC, 1-67 AR. "Soldiers cannot just depend on the medic because a medic could be injured during a firefight or roadside-bomb attack. Everyone needs to know how to treat and stabilize a victim until more qualified personnel take over."

The aid station is responsible for more than 1,000 personnel, which include civilian contractors, Iraqi army soldiers, Iraqi police and detainees.

"We take care of detainees because everyone deserves the right to treatment," said Spc. John Schmidt, combat medic, HHC, 1-67 AR, a St. Louis, Mo., native. "As a medic, it is our duty to take care of the injured no matter the circumstances. Everyone deserves treatment, from your worst enemy to your best friend."

The aid station currently has a doctor and a physician's assistant alongside the 23 medics on hand.

It has the capability of handling three trauma patients at a time, said Brown. It also contains a patient hold for people placed on overnight stay for observation.

"We see around six to ten people on a busy day," said Brown. "Although we do not do a lot of business, that's okay; a boring time for a medic is a good time because that means no one's hurt."

• Date Taken: 05.04.2006
• Date Posted: 05.04.2006 10:34
• Story ID: 6265
• Location: ISKANDARIYAH, IQ