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    326 Combat Support Hospital flexes mobility, ingenuity

    326 Combat Support Hospital flexes mobility, ingenuity

    Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson | Sgt. McVeigh, a medic assigned to the 256th Combat Support Hospital, headquartered in...... read more read more

    TWINSBURG, OH, UNITED STATES

    03.26.2018

    Story by Sgt. 1st Class Debra Richardson 

    319th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

    FORT McCOY, Wis. – From afar, the collection of dark green Army tents resembles a village, comprised of interconnected structures of varying sizes and distances from the rest of the improved tactical training base. If not for the large red cross contrasting sharply against the sea of green, a passerby may not realize the significance of this tiny city. However, the importance of the 256 Combat Support Hospital, or CSH, headquartered in Twinsburg, Ohio, was made apparent after completing a task not expected and rarely done…it jumped.

    “This is a historical moment,” explained the 256th CSH commander, Col. LaConnia Dandy, “because CSHs don’t jump.”

    Jumping, or moving a hospital on the battlefield to maintain close proximity to advancing units, is a large logistical undertaking. A CSH is so large that any attempt to move it once it’s been established requires several days of packing, several personnel to tear down tents, and outside resources to physically pick up the equipment crammed into ISU-90s and flatbed trucks to haul it to the new location.

    “Historically, because CSHs are huge, we require lift support to move,” explained Dandy, an Atlanta, Georgia native. “As a combat support hospital, we are not very agile and we can’t sustain ourselves without the assistance of other support companies.”

    The 256th CSH has been identified as a Ready Force X unit, Army reserve units expected to maintain readiness so that it can deploy within days or weeks, and is currently postured to be the next CSH to be deployed.

    “Based on the current threat, jumping the CSH is a necessary capability because the survivability of soldiers depends on it,” said Dandy.

    The goal of a CSH is to minimize the distance from the point of injury to the location of advanced treatment. A CSH resembles a civilian hospital in that it has the capability to provide the most basic to the most advanced trauma care, from dental, to CT Scans, to OBGYN, to surgery, and head trauma care.

    “Because our unit is an Army reserve unit, we have an advantage to our active duty counterparts,” Dandy said. “The majority of our soldiers work in the medical field as our daily jobs as civilians. This allows us to think outside the box, be innovative, and remain up-to-date with the most current and successful treatment plans.

    Due to the Geneva Conventions, medical personnel can only carry a weapon for self-defense, so a CSH must also be wary of advances from the enemy, Dandy said. In a combat zone, if a CSH takes heavy artillery fire or is in danger of being overran by the enemy, a CSH must be capable of jumping successfully to ensure its patients are kept safe. Evading the enemy is a secondary benefit to the 256 CSH exercising its capabilities to jump in a timely manner.

    “We exercised our ability to jump in a training environment so we know, and have the confidence necessary, to jump in a real-world scenario,” said Dandy.

    The 256th CSH took advantage of Combat Support Training Exercise 18-03 in March to flex its jumping muscles.

    “Now that we’ve set this model, it can become a norm and an expected course of action for all CSHs to be capable of performing,” said Dandy. “We will continue to grow in confidence and should we deploy, the 256th will be ready for anything, even a jump.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.26.2018
    Date Posted: 03.29.2018 14:03
    Story ID: 271097
    Location: TWINSBURG, OH, US
    Hometown: ATLANTA, GA, US

    Web Views: 143
    Downloads: 0

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