Sailors participate in mass casualty drill with Israeli navy

Photo By Lt.Cmdr. Mack Jamieson | Cmdr. Michael Meredith, executive officer of the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109), left, speaks with embarked Israeli navy sailors during Exercise Reliant Mermaid 2012. Reliant Mermaid, in its 11th iteration, is an annual search and rescue exercise designed to increase interoperability by developing individual and collective maritime proficiencies of participating nations, as well as promoting friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation. (Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William Jamieson)  

HAIFA, ISRAEL

08.15.2012

Courtesy Story

U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William Jamieson
USS Jason Dunham Public Affairs

HAIFA, Israel – Sailors from the guided-missile destroyers USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) and USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) participated in a mass-casualty drill with the Israeli Naval Force aboard the Israeli Sa’ar five-class corvette INS Hanit (503) as a part of Exercise Reliant Mermaid 2012.

“Both of our navies have different methods of treatment and response, and it was good to be able to come together and learn from each other,” said Israeli navy Lt. Yishai Ben Moshe. “It was interesting to see the skills of the corpsmen and we were honored to have them come to our ship to participate.”

During the drill, medical personnel responded to many different types of injuries.

“We all had to really concentrate and work through the language barrier and the differences in our training, but we came together and made it work” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Mandy Broderick. “It was really a lot of fun to see how they worked through problems.”

The Israelis’ hands-on approach impressed many of the sailors involved in the drill.

“They were prepared to do an entire operation on the spot if necessary,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Adrian Sandoval. “It was really impressive and they taught me some techniques I hadn’t thought of.”

Reliant Mermaid, in its 11th iteration, is an annual search and rescue exercise designed to increase interoperability by developing individual and collective maritime proficiencies of participating nations, as well as promoting friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation.

Jason Dunham is on a scheduled deployment in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility.

• Date Taken: 08.15.2012
• Date Posted: 08.17.2012 07:25
• Story ID: 93394
• Location: HAIFA, IL