Photo By Grzegorz Czaplicki | Polish medical personnel and Konin hospital chief surgeon take care of a patient in an...... read more read more
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A mass casualty and medical evacuation training event took place,
simultaneously, at different locations across the Greater Poland Voivodeship on April 21.
A simulated explosion at the fuel depot in Forward Operating Site Powidz and seven casualties was scenario for the training exercise.
The 116th Military Police (MP) responded and alerted the medical unit on
site, the 142nd Medical Company Area Support. They triaged the patients and determined the level of the hospital they needed to go to. Based on the injuries, the medics determined Konin Hospital was the best option.
One patient was evacuated in a field litter ambulance, while another four
were taken to the airfield in Powidz to be air evacuated on two HH-60M
helicopters by 4th Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation
Regiment around midday.
Local media and some hospital staff gathered in the proximity of the landing zone covering and observing the patients' arrival.
“It wasn’t until we arrived at Konin hospital that I began to understand the impact of these training missions,” said 2nd Lt. Timothy Caldwell, the officer in charge for the exercise. “The relationships we’ve built with Polish armed forces and local hospitals will be instrumental for U.S. military rotational forces when they arrive in this AO (area of operation),” he added.
Upon arrival, hospital personnel transported the “patients” from the aircrafts to the emergency room, where surgeons and nurses, assisted by the MCAS medical team and a physician from the 2/227th, began treatment.
Upon successful completion of the scenario, a short conference on the
importance of such a partnership was held by the Konin hospital director,
Mrs. Maria Wrobel, TRICARE representatives, and MCAS senior leaders.
“Although civilians were lined up to take pictures with us, as if we were rock stars, what impressed me the most was the debrief at the Hospital,” said Caldwell, who is also a ground ambulance platoon leader for the 142nd MCAS. “There was a translator after each representative spoke their piece. I’ve only seen something of that sort on television.”
“I was unable to understand what they were saying as they spoke, but their facial expressions were speaking an universal language… gratitude,” added Caldwell.
Grzegorz Czaplicki, CAT1 EUCOM Linguist assigned to 191 RSG based at Forward Operating Site Powidz.
| Date Taken: | 04.21.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2022 05:51 |
| Story ID: | 423575 |
| Location: | POWIDZ, PL |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, MASSCAL Exercise Strengthens Polish-American Partnership, by SFC Angel Martinez-Navedo, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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