Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Peter Ferrell | U.S. Army Spc. Annarosa Guerrero, a resident of Miami, treats a simulated patient for...... read more read more
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Most of the Soldiers at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, were sound asleep in their beds at 3:30 a.m., with the exception of the Soldiers at the Emergency Management Working Group, who conducted a mass casualty training exercise, May 7.
Normally, casualties are taken to the hospital. But Task Force Provider's motor pool served as one of many sites for the exercise.
"If the hospital can't take the patients then you have a mass casualty situation," said U.S. Army Spc. Charles Jost of the 524th Combat Service Support Battalion from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. "The definition of a mass casualty is when the casualties overwhelm the assets. A mass casualty could be five casualties and one medic."
U.S. Army Lt. Col Nick Cressy from Colorado Springs, Co., a member of the EMWG and assigned to the 82nd Combined Joint Task Force Surgeons Cell, was in charge of evaluating this particular site of the exercise. When he arrived at Bagram Airfield last summer, Cressy was tasked with developing this type of exercise because one had not been done in two years. After some initial coordination, Cressy had his first practice mass casualty in August 2009 and another in November 2009.
"It was realistic and we found the holes," said Cressy. "Communication is a big part of the operation. We have to make sure that base operations know that a patient is coming."
At the motor pool site, a moulage team headed by Jost was in place. His team had a kit capable of simulating various injuries from gunshot wounds to amputations.
After all the simulated casualties were dressed with moulages, they were randomly placed throughout the motor pool. Some were placed in vehicles, while others simulated performing maintenance on vehicles. Once the patients were in position, Jost kicked off the mass casualty exercise by informing the members of the 2123rd Transportation Company that there had been a simulated rocket attack on the motor pool.
He instructed them to find the casualties, perform immediate care for their injuries and then moved them to a central collection point.
"My main concern is about individual care and individual training such as combat lifesaver (training)," said Jost.
At this time U.S. Army Sgt. Chandler Fulton, from Clifton, Texas, with the 5th Maintenance Company, assisted the first responders by taking notes of all patients' injuries. He then ranked the patients in order based on the severity of their injuries. Following the initial triaging, Jost directed the loading of the patients into the back of a tactical vehicle for transport to Staff Sgt. Heathe N. Craig Hospital on base.
The shortest route to transport patients to the hospital would require crossing the active runway; this route would only be used in a real mass casualty exercise. The second phase of the exercise required the tactical vehicle radio operator to communicate with the control tower to allow for a safe crossing of the very active runway. Once this communication simulation was performed, the exercise was concluded.
The Soldiers who participated in the exercise felt they did a good job and Cressy said he was pleased with the overall operation of the exercise.
| Date Taken: | 05.15.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.15.2010 18:08 |
| Story ID: | 49739 |
| Location: | BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 380 |
| Downloads: | 218 |
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