Photo By 1st Lt. Tessa Irwin | Col. (Dr.) Paul Robben, infectious disease specialist and medical consultant with the...... read more read more
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FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska — Medical personnel from the United States and Indian Armies conducted a joint academic exchange during Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2025 to enhance medical readiness, share best practices, and improve interoperability in support of operations across the Indo-Pacific region.
The exchange, held at the Fort Wainwright Medical Simulation Training Center, brought together Soldiers from the 11th Airborne Division, the 18th Theater Medical Command based at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, and the Indian Army. The event included classroom sessions and hands-on demonstrations focused on combat medicine and health service support in austere environments.
Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2025, running Sept. 1–14 at Fort Wainwright, Yukon Training Area, and Donnelly Training Area, is an annual bilateral exercise between the two nations’ armies. Sponsored by U.S. Army Pacific, it focuses on enhancing readiness and developing partner nation capacity through combined command post and field training exercises.
During the medical exchange, U.S. Army representatives provided instruction on patient evacuation procedures, health service support planning, and approaches to antimicrobial resistance. Indian Army medical officers presented on high-altitude physiology, cold weather injury prevention and treatment, and infectious disease management in densely deployed formations.
“This really improved our understanding of the Indian approach to medical care, especially in force health protection,” said Col. (Dr.) Paul Robben, infectious disease specialist and medical consultant with the 18th Theater Medical Command. “Their preventive practice known as the ‘hand and foot parade’—a daily routine of soaking extremities in warm water—demonstrates how simple measures can effectively combat frostbite in extreme conditions.”
Hands-on training included the use of Fort Wainwright’s medical simulation facilities, where Soldiers practiced casualty care techniques relevant to Arctic and high-altitude operations. The sessions provided opportunities to observe each nation’s procedures for triage, stabilization, and evacuation under conditions likely to be encountered during large-scale combat operations or disaster response missions in the region.
Lt. Col. Philip Durando of the 18th Theater Medical Command highlighted the broader significance of the exchange. “During large-scale combat operations, we anticipate significant casualties across all echelons of care,” Durando said. “Time and distance constraints in INDOPACOM will challenge our health service support planning. Exercises like Yudh Abhyas help us build the partnerships necessary to expand our treatment capacity.”
The academic exchange also supported a key objective of Exercise Yudh Abhyas: to synchronize health service support planning and develop operational medical concepts that account for the unique logistical challenges of the Indo-Pacific. This includes extended medical evacuation routes, dispersed joint operations, and the requirement to sustain care in environments with limited infrastructure.
For the Indian Army, participation provided an opportunity to share lessons learned from operating in mountainous and high-altitude regions. Indian medical officers detailed their use of specialized cold-weather treatments and monitoring protocols to prevent and manage frostbite, hypothermia, and altitude-related illnesses.
For U.S. Army Pacific, the exchange aligns with its focus on theater-level medical enabling capabilities. The 18th Theater Medical Command serves as the Medical Theater Enabling Command for U.S. Army Pacific, providing theater-level planning, coordination, and operational medical support for exercises, operations, and contingency responses.
The event is one of several professional development and knowledge-sharing components within Exercise Yudh Abhyas 2025, which also features a brigade-level command post exercise, field training exercises, a high-mobility artillery rocket system live-fire demonstration, and cultural exchange activities.
By combining academic instruction with practical demonstrations, the medical exchange reinforced the importance of preventive medicine, interoperability in casualty evacuation procedures, and joint planning for health service support in multinational operations.
Yudh Abhyas, meaning “Preparing for War” in Hindi, has evolved since its inception in 2004 to address a wide range of operational scenarios, from counterinsurgency to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Its objectives include enhancing bilateral readiness, exchanging tactics and procedures, integrating operational enablers, and strengthening a free and open Indo-Pacific through sustained military cooperation.
The 2025 iteration marks the continued growth of U.S.-India defense ties, which encompass military exercises, defense trade, and personnel exchanges designed to improve mutual capabilities and strategic coordination.
| Date Taken: | 09.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.05.2025 20:45 |
| Story ID: | 547281 |
| Location: | FORT WAINWRIGHT, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 329 |
| Downloads: | 6 |
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