Pfc. Matthew Clifton
MNC-I Public Affairs Office
6 June, 2005
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq -- Combat lifesavers gave aid after a June 3 anti-coalition rocket attack on the second-floor balcony of Al-Faw Palace, at Camp Victory, left eight Soldiers wounded.
Because of the quick reaction of first-responders, Victory Soldiers will know what to expect if a situation like this were to ever happen.
The rocket attack was part of a mass-casualty exercise that took place at a number of camps including Victory. The exercise was testing the responsiveness and procedural awareness of Victory's first-responders in a time of crisis.
Spc. Matthew Hanks, information systems analyst, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C., said he knew there was going to be an exercise, but didn't know when or where it would happen.
"I heard screaming and yelling while I was working, so I grabbed my combat lifesaver bag and headed toward the scene of the incident," said Hanks, one of the first Soldiers to respond to the incident.
Lt. Col. Niel Johnson, chief of clinical operations, Multi-National Corps-Iraq Surgeon's Office, was another first-responder and has seen exercises like these before.
Much of the information about the exercise wasn't announced, because the people in charge wanted to make it as much of a surprise as possible, he said.
"They purposely kept individuals from knowing more than they needed to know so we wouldn't have time to make any plans that would jeopardize the integrity of the exercise," Johnson said. "I had no idea where the scene would be, how many casualties there would be involved or what the exact scope of the exercise entailed."
Troops were informed of the incident through MNC-I's Joint Operations Center, which telephoned each section in the palace to announce the start of the exercise.
"They told us there was an incident and first-responders were needed on the second floor," Johnson said.
When Johnson arrived at the scene he noticed a lot of blast injuries, a finger amputation and major neck and chest wounds. Unfortunately, the wounds were almost identical to the type of injuries that could be expected if the real thing ever happened, Johnson said.
"When I got to the site I started to look for the most injured casualties-skipping over the Soldiers who were conscious and talking-knowing that the Soldiers who were unresponsive would need the most attention," Hanks said. "I knew the unconscious Soldiers would take priority over the responsive ones."
Johnson said he was on the scene less than five minutes after he received word of the incident.
"I think it was a quick and realistic response," Johnson said. "The time it took us to grab our gear and reach the scene was very accurate to how long it would take us to respond if the real thing were to happen."
Initially it seemed like there was a lot of confusion among the first-responders.
One minute it's a normal work day and the next, waves of people are responding to numerous casualties, Hanks said.
"Any time you respond to a scene like this there is a lot of confusion, a lot of people standing around and trying to figure out what is going on," Johnson said. "The first thing we did was make an assessment of the situation.
We got somebody to quiet down the crowd, take a leadership position and explain to us what happened rather quickly."
Hanks said even though there was confusion at first, within minutes everyone came together and did what was needed to be done to correctly treat the wounded Soldiers.
"I was extremely pleased to see the kind of response we got from the first-responders and to see the amount of control they had," Johnson said.
These things can be extremely chaotic, and it was encouraging to see how much cooperation and cohesiveness took place. The waves of first responders were very eager to help and follow directions, Johnson added.
"I think this exercise helped prepare Soldiers for the real thing. Even though it's a lot easier to do dry runs, you know it's just a drill," Hanks said.
"The training we received during this exercise coincides with what would be asked of us if we were ever put into a position where we have to perform for real."
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2005 09:39 |
| Story ID: | 2149 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 116 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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