Photo By Sgt. Shiloh Capers | U.S. Army Sgt. Derek Tso, crew chief, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th...... read more read more
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RIGA, Latvia — US Soldiers based in Leilvarde provided flight transportation during a Latvian National Guard casualty evacuation exercise in three locations across the Latvian country, May 27.
The 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, New York, currently resides at Leilvarde in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Operation Atlantic Resolve is a U.S. endeavor to fulfill obligations to NATO by rotating U.S. -based units through the European theater and participating in multiple exercises with Allies.
A U.S. Army Civil Affairs Team helped the Latvian military and civil government develop the scenario to integrate hospitals and the national guard units into responding to emergencies, said U.S. Army Maj. Nathan Colvin, the officer-in-charge of Task Force Baltic Phoenix, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade.
"The exercise helps us address our training objectives that we complete whether we're in a training environment or in theater (combat)," said Colvin. "It helps that we're doing it somewhere we can use it in a practical way that aids in building our relationship and creating opportunities for interoperability."
At the three separate locations, exercise volunteers were tended to by first responders, medical personnel, local national guard and the fire department. The wounds were dressed, casualty cards were completed and the patients loaded onto litters. Then the patients were driven to a collection point and unloaded for air transportation.
Before departing from the sites, crew members shut down the aircraft and walked the volunteer patients through a session of cold-load training. This practice is a pause which allows others not accustomed to the aircraft to become familiar by rehearsing safety precautions and helicopter emergency procedures.
The training continued with a quick demonstration of how to load and unload a litter into a CH-47 Chinook and onto litter straps. Then the U.S. military assisted in flight transportation by flying the volunteer patients in a CH-47 Chinook to Riga East Clinical University Hospital in Riga, Latvia. At Riga East, patients received a higher level of care for potential injuries.
"People are becoming more familiar with helicopter operations, whether its Latvian Combat Search And Rescue or U.S. helicopters," Colvin said. "I think, as we move forward, we'll be able to build larger training events that are able to support the training and needs of the civil government."
One the of the CH-47 Chinooks also held 17 Latvian Search and Rescue pilots and swimmers. The objective was for the crew members to have the knowledge for emergencies.
"They got to see it from our perspective, they do this mission all the time in their training objectives," said Capt. Chad Merfeld, flight surgeon for Task Force Baltic Phoenix. "To have them aboard our aircraft was a unique opportunity for them and for us, to create that shared understanding with our Latvian Search and Rescue members."
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 05.28.2017 12:01 |
| Story ID: | 235589 |
| Location: | LV |
| Web Views: | 191 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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