Photo By Ardian Nrecaj | U.S. Army Sgt. Jerobel Billena a preventive medicine noncommissioned officer with...... read more read more
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PRISTINA, Kosovo - A mosquito bite, cold weather, and improper sanitation are all things that can cause field training to go wrong. With proper preventive measures all of those can be avoided.
U.S. Army Soldiers from the 345th Combat Support Hospital out of Jacksonville, Florida, currently assigned to Multinational Battle Group-East, held a first-ever Field Sanitation Team Class for 15 medical personnel from the Kosovo Security Force, Sept. 18, in Pristina, Kosovo.
U.S. Army Sgt. Tyrell Mays, a preventive medicine noncommissioned officer, was one of the instructors.
“We did basic training on general sanitation in the field environment and the general sanitation levels you have to do before a training event to prevent cold-weather injuries, hot-weather injuries, and proper disposal of human waste,” Mays said. “We teach this class to lower the risk of having Soldiers drop out of training for reasons other than battle injuries.”
May explained that during the class they covered waste disposal, general sanitation, food and water inspections, and then went out to conduct testing.
“We did a walkthrough in the dining facility to go over general sanitation and inspection order and to teach exact levels of storage and proper temperatures for food handling,” Mays said.
After the dining facility inspection, they conducted a test for the proper chlorine levels on the water in a large portable water tank, called a water buffalo.
“Water buffaloes are the common water source for soldiers during training, so we showed how to properly inspect the tank, know which parts need to be properly installed and make sure that there are no deficiencies that will deadline the tank,” Mays said. “It was a great experience and feeling to be able to teach the first class to them, and, hopefully, it will become a program they can develop on their own.”
The training was coordinated through the NATO Liaison and Advisory Team, another element underneath MNBG-E’s higher headquarters at Kosovo Force. Finnish Army Colonel Matti Lehesjoki, the NLAT’s medical advisor, explained that the class was planned many years before.
“I had a meeting with the field sanitation training team at Camp Bondsteel, and three weeks ago, we decided that this training should take place,” Lehesjoki said. “Then we proposed to the KSF medical company commander that we should hold the training with at least 15 participants.”
Lehesjoki emphasized the importance of the training and said that for medical service, this is one of the key factors to maintain force protection sustainability for the commander and their forces.
“Preventive medicine, food control, hygiene, and prevention of waterborne illnesses are the essential key tasks for a preventive medicine team on a deployment,” Lehesjoki said.
For KSF Lieutenant Zenel Bajraktari, a medic with 3rd Battalion, Quick Reaction Brigade, this was his first experience with training of this kind.
“It provided us with information that prepares us for field training where we face the biggest challenges,” Bajraktari said. “The goal of this class was to train the trainer so that all the participants are now certified to take this knowledge back to their units and train others to be better prepared for safer field training.”
| Date Taken: | 09.18.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.29.2015 11:21 |
| Story ID: | 177475 |
| Location: | PRISTINA, ZZ |
| Web Views: | 155 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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