Photo By Master Sgt. Jerry Saslav | Cpl. Luis L. Riosbaez, a native of Caguas, Puerto Rico, serves a medic with 1st...... read more read more
By Sgt. Jerry Saslav
926th Engineer Brigade, Multi-National Division - Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq — "What you learn here today may save someone's life," Sgt. Michael Horst told the 11 Iraqi men standing before him.
The men were at Joint Security Station Sadr City in northeastern Baghdad to receive training which would enable Horst, a native of Green Bay, Wis., to complete a project that many residents of Sadr City had been waiting for – opening the district's only public swimming pool.
Before the pool could open, the lifeguards, security guards and maintenance workers were required to be trained to handle any emergency situation that may arise at the pool.
The attendees were taught the proper procedures on how to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and other lifesaving skills by Cpl. Luis Riosbaez and Spc. Amber Panter, both of whom are medics with Task Force 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, which is currently attached to 3rd BCT, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad.
"CPR's one of the most important classes; it's the basis of the medical field," said Riosbaez, a Caguas, Puerto Rico, native.
To help conquer the medics' inability to verbally communicate with the future lifesavers, Panter said they decided to go with a hands-on approach.
"It's kind of hard with the language barrier, but it's easier touching somebody. Knowing I have to push here so I can find a pulse," said Panter, a Jacksonville, Fla. native.
Riosbaez and Panter first demonstrated the basic steps of CPR while asking questions of the students.
"When I first started, I asked some of them, 'How do you check a pulse?' Some of them went straight to the place," said Riosbaez.
Riosbaez noted that there are two places to check for a pulse – the neck and inside the wrist.
After running through the steps several times, the medics paired the students up for hands-on training. The training hit a few bumps at first, so Riosbaez and Panter took a step back and started again.
The medics emphasized the ABCs of first aid: airway, breathing and circulation.
"I had to keep going back and showing them," said Riosbaez. "At the end, they seemed to be doing it on their own. They were managing to open the airways."
Next, the medics reintroduced chest compression techniques, paying special attention to the need to breathe for the victim.
The medics constantly quizzed their students to ensure they truly understood the tasks and weren't simply repeating the processes they saw.
Riosbaez said, "We asked them, 'How many chest compressions do you do (between breaths)?'"
The response came quickly and correctly.
"They actually got to learn it and understand it. They seemed to understand everything we put out, they answered all of our questions," said Riosbaez.
CPR, along with the other skills the medics presented during the daylong training, is a perishable skill that Panter said needs to be incessantly reinforced through training.
"They need to continually retrain and retrain; they need to do classes by themselves and teach other people how CPR is done. The more they do it, the more accustomed they are to it," she said.
The people of the area have been watching the pool's rehabilitation and have been eagerly awaiting its opening. The training was required before the pool would be allowed to open Aug. 30, 2008.
"If no one is around, and I see someone who doesn't know how to swim, I will help him," said one of the students attending the CPR training.
Once the final lesson was learned, Horst gathered the students to offer them words of inspiration.
"This pool is a sign that things are changing in Sadr City – and you are all a part of it," said Horst, a Civil Affairs NCO with the 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, currently attached to 3rd BCT, 4th Inf. Div. "You can tell your grandchildren and your grandchildren's grandchildren someday that you made a difference in a lot of people's lives."
| Date Taken: | 08.30.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.30.2008 18:04 |
| Story ID: | 23046 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 309 |
| Downloads: | 276 |
This work, Regular Soldiers teach Iraqi lifeguards how to save a life, by MSG Jerry Saslav, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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