Extrication exercise hones specialized skills

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Dillon Devrow cuts into a vehicle with a K-12 Rescue Saw during a vehicle extrication exercise at Camp Taji, Iraq, in April. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael Uribe)  

CAMP TAJI, IRAQ

04.04.2011

Courtesy Story

40th Combat Aviation Brigade

By Spc. Michael Uribe

CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Soldiers from the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade teamed up with Camp Taji’s civilian firefighters earlier this month to practice extricating car crash victims from a smashed-up vehicle.

A decommissioned Ford Explorer was systematically pried open, sliced and diced during the joint training exercise.

“We went from the most basic part of stabilizing the vehicle to some basic entry maneuvers—from opening the doors and ultimately taking the roof off the vehicle,” said Spc. Michael Kelley, a native of Bourne, Mass.

Kelley is a flight medic with Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment (Air Ambulance). The 3-126th is a National Guard unit from Vermont and Massachusetts that is providing medical evacuation services in Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn. The unit is attached to the Georgia National Guard’s 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment, which falls under the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade.

The joint training exercise was organized by Kelley, who works as an emergency medical technician and firefighter back home. The training gave the medics and flight crews of the 3-126th some practice using their specialized extrication equipment.

“Today we trained the medics on exactly what steps to use if they come upon a vehicle extrication situation,” said Norman Semanik, a firefighter with the Camp Taji Fire Department.

Semanik trained the soldiers on how to break the vehicle’s windows and properly secure its battery, with particular attention paid to extractor and victim safety.

A Tactical Tomahawk was used to smash through the windows. A Power Hawk Rescue System pried and cut the vehicle open. A K-12 Rescue Saw cut through its metal frame.

“This is a skill that is perishable, and if we are called to a MEDEVAC scene where we have to extract a patient, it’s good to have those skills because we do have this equipment,” said Maj. Robert Anderson, commander of Charlie Company, 1-126th.

Anderson said that for the soldiers, this type of training “keeps that edge—that knife edge on what they do.”

• Date Taken: 04.04.2011
• Date Posted: 04.14.2011 09:59
• Story ID: 68739
• Location: CAMP TAJI, IQ