Ready for Worst Case Scenario: JGSDF, USN rehearse loading casualty on MV-22

Photo By Sgt. Timothy Valero | United States Navy Senior Chief Jesus Salabao, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, senior enlisted leader and deputy medical planner, discusses how the U.S. Navy configures patient treatment and placement within the aircraft while flying in a MV-22 Osprey, with Sgt. Maj. Arata Hamaguchi, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), Western Army Infantry Regiment, during a tour of an MV-22 Osprey at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Feb. 4, 2016. The tour focused on the treatment and transportation of a patient using the MV-22 Osprey’s assets and was held during Exercise Iron Fist, an annual bilateral amphibious training exercise between the U.S. Marine Corps and JGSDF. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Timothy Valero/ Released)  

CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

02.04.2016

Story by Lance Cpl. Timothy Valero 

11th Marine Expeditionary Unit   

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The sound of boots stampeding up the ramp filled the cargo bay of the MV-22 Osprey. Soldiers of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Western Army Infantry Regiment medical team rush in carrying a litter with an injured soldier. The team quickly assesses the soldier while 1st Lt. Hiroyasu Goto, a surgeon with the JGSDF, takes out his stethoscope and begins to evaluate the injured soldier’s breathing. With limited space, the medical team works in sync with one another. Sergeant Major Arata Hamaguchi, of the JGSDF medical team, stops the medical team and begins to take pictures of the placement of the equipment as another soldier writes down notes.

Members of the JGSDF medical team conduct medical scenario and MV-22 Osprey familiarization during the medical knowledge sharing evolution of Exercise Iron Fist 2016 on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., Feb. 4.

During the medical evolution of Iron Fist, medical personnel from the U.S. Navy and JGSDF medical team are afforded the chance to share and use the diverse medical equipment utilized by the different organizations to treat patients.

“Equipment familiarization is important, as we continue to conduct joint and bilateral operations we could be tasked at any time to use a piece of their [JGSDF] equipment,” said Senior Chief Jesus Salabao, command element senior enlisted leader and deputy medical planner, 11th Marine Expeditionary Force. “This will allow us to be more efficient in providing medical care to our Japanese and Marine Corps service members.”

The JGSDF medical team was guided through the aircraft by Cpl. Eric Weltch, an MV-22 Osprey crew chief with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 165, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, who explained the features available in the cargo bay, such as communications equipment, storage areas, and personnel and cargo configurations. The medical team was given the opportunity to see first-hand the MV-22 Osprey’s configuration used to evacuate and transport injured personnel.

“We conducted a tour with the JGSDF to show them the capability and the structure of the MV-22 Osprey,” said Salabao. “It was a chance for them to [become] accustomed and familiarized with the equipment of the aircraft.”

The knowledge and experiences shared by the Navy medical and U.S. Marine aircraft personnel will better prepare the soldiers of the JGSDF medical team to treat and conduct patient movement in the future.

By seeing first-hand the capabilities of the aircraft and having a hands-on opportunity, the JGSDF medical team, whether conducting medical evacuation scenarios or actually conducting a medical evacuation, will know what to expect, said Salabao.

Iron Fist is an annual, bilateral amphibious training exercise designed to improve the U.S. Marine Corps and JGSDF’s ability to plan, communicate and conduct combined amphibious operations. Training during the exercise focuses on advanced marksmanship, amphibious reconnaissance, fire-and-maneuver assaults, staff planning, logistical support, fire support operations and medical knowledge sharing.

• Date Taken: 02.04.2016
• Date Posted: 02.09.2016 18:06
• Story ID: 188412
• Location: CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US