CONTINGENCY OPERATING SITE MAREZ, Iraq – Medics assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 5th Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, taught Iraqi policemen assigned to 3rd Federal Police Division, basic combat lifesaving skills, Feb. 12.
Nine policemen attended the three-day training course at the battalion aid station on Contingency Operating Site Marez to learn first aid skills critical to saving lives.
U.S. soldiers led the training, providing basic patient assessments and proper ways to provide initial medical care in a hostile situation.
“These policemen act as (emergency medical technicians) in the civilian world,” said Sgt. Kwame Hart, a combat medic section chief assigned to HHB, 5th Bn., 82nd FA Regt.
“They are usually the first responders to an incident, and they offer medical care to injured personnel before they reach the hospital,” said Hart, a native of Georgetown, Guyana.
Medical instructors presented slideshows followed by demonstrations to help Iraqi policemen gain the most knowledge from the training.
As the trainees practiced on each other, soldiers evaluated their progress and provided the students a chance to teach the class.
“Overall, we are supporting our mission of helping Iraq achieve self- sustainment,” said Pfc. Luther Alston, a medic assigned to HHB, 5th Bn., 82nd FA Regt.
“This training is teaching them how to be self-sufficient as a person and as a unit. We’re showing them different ways to treat injuries, and they are very receptive to what we teach,” said Alston, who hails from Warrenton, N.C.
From learning how to apply a tourniquet to determining which types of injuries should be treated first, the federal policemen repeatedly practiced their tasks, progressing in knowledge and proficiency with each attempt.
“This training will be beneficial to us now and in the future,” said Mahmoud Abdullah, a policeman assigned to 3rd Federal Police Div.
“Before I came to this class, I had very little medical experience, but today, I learned more about what to do in certain situations, and I will need that to help (an injured person),” said the native of Mosul, Iraq.
Soldiers of 5th Bn., 82nd FA Regt. continue to provide medical training for Iraqi Security Forces as part of the advise, train and assist mission in support of Operation New Dawn.