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First responders rush onto ice Medical staff for Blue Jackets gets training to handle in-game emergencies in wake of nearly fatal NHL injury Monday, September 22, 2008 3:13 AM By Suzanne Hoholik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Mike Vogt, head athletic trainer of the Columbus Blue Jackets, demonstrates chest compressions in a training session for the medical personnel who staff the hockey team's games. Rich Phillips, who drives the Zamboni machine that smoothes the Nationwide Arena ice, portrays a stricken player. When the fastest game in sports comes to a halt because a hockey player is down on the ice or heads...

ST. PETE’S BEACH, Fla., Aug. 19, 2008 – Scientists and battlefield medical clinicians shared their knowledge and experiences to advance medicine during the military’s premier trauma care conference here. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command’s annual Advanced Technology Applications for Combat Casualty Care Conference was held Aug. 11 to 15. What evolved from a disjointed vendor-oriented conference more than 10 years ago with just a couple hundred participants is now an extremely relevant knowledge exchange that has the ability to improve military medicine, said Army Col. Bob Vandre, a former MRMC Combat Casualty Care Program director who organized...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, July 24, 2008 – Medics and doctors play a key role in maintaining the health and safety of U.S. soldiers throughout Iraq. A doctor from Montgomery Village, Md., brings especially important skills to the combat theater. Army Lt. Col. (Dr.) Margaret Swanberg, of Montgomery Village, Md., checks the pupils of Army Spc. Michael Woywood, of San Antonio, for dilation during a military acute concussion evaluation demonstration at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq, July 18, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Michael Schuch, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

Sgt. Lucas Gonzales, a physical therapy specialist with 225th Brigade Support Battalion, shows the staff of the Taji Healthcare Clinic how to properly use a device which provides pain relief in the back and neck. Photo by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield, 2nd Stryker Brigade 25th Infantry Division. CAMP TAJI — Three Soldiers from the 225th Brigade Support Battalion recently visited with the doctors, nurses and physicians of the Taji Health Clinic to provide the staff with hands-on training on some new medical equipment.Due to the devastating consequences of war, healthcare in Iraq has suffered severely over the past seven years. Coalition...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, July 2, 2008 – An airman and a sailor from Combined Joint Task Force 101 here teamed up with Afghan doctors and other coalition medics June 26 to host a village medical outreach event in the village of Nilay in the Kohe Safi district of Afghanistan’s Parawan province. Navy Cmdr. Beth Myhre, officer in charge of the cooperative medical assistance team, checks an Afghan child’s burn scars as part of a medical outreach event in Nilay village in the Kohe Sofe district of Afghanistan’s Parwan province, June 26, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Pvt. Tamara...

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2008 – Insurgents attacked a medical outreach team of Afghan National Army and coalition forces in the Sanguin district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province April 12, military officials reported. The insurgents attacked the team with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire while medics were providing care to local citizens outside a coalition base. There were no reports of civilian or coalition casualties. Elsewhere in southern Afghanistan, two other medical outreach missions were conducted without incident. Near the village of Shamshad in Oruzgan province, medics treated about 110 people. A team treated more than 130 Afghans in the Gereshk district...

3/27/2008 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- "Bag him!" "I need an X-ray in here!" "I've got an abnormal rhythm!" "Somebody get me some vitals!" This could be the sounds of the fast-paced tempo and organized chaos of any emergency room anywhere, but these voices are being heard in a combat zone, where major trauma care can be more complex by the added stress of the environment. To help alleviate the stress put on the 11 doctors, nurses and medics at the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron here, Col. Gregory Biernacki, the 447th EMEDS commander, has implemented training for the...

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2008 – The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff praised the Army medics and Navy corpsmen who risk their lives on the battlefield to save others at the 2nd annual Armed Services YMCA gala here last night. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and retired Navy Rear Adm. S. Frank Gallo, national executive director, Armed Services YMCA, present the Angels of the Battlefield Award to Navy Seaman Elvis H. Gichini, a corpsman, during a gala dinner in honor of military medics and corpsman at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington,...

CAMP EGGERS, Afghanistan, Feb. 15, 2008 – Five medics received Army Achievement Medals on Feb. 9 for their actions following the bombing of the Serena Hotel, in Kabul, by Taliban forces Jan. 14. Army Spc. Isiah Soto, of the Camp Eggers Medical Platoon, salutes Platoon Leader 1st Lt. Brian Gomez Feb. 9, 2008, after Gomez pinned Soto and four other soldiers with Army Achievement Medals for their actions in a hotel bombing in Kabul earlier in the month. The ceremony was on Camp Eggers, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo by Staff Sgt. Luis P. Valdespino, USMC  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

Muslim medical students are refusing to obey hygiene rules brought in to stop the spread of deadly superbugs, because they say it is against their religion. Women training in several hospitals in England have raised objections to removing their arm coverings in theatre and to rolling up their sleeves when washing their hands, because it is regarded as immodest in Islam.

Capt. Sayed Ali, from Long Island, N.Y., the surgeon assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, and Pfc. Israel Ruiz, a medic in Troop A, 3-1 Cav. Regt., examine an Iraqi cabdriver, who was injured by an insurgent improvised explosive device, at Patrol Base Assassin Jan. 16. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto, 3rd HBCT, 3rd Inf. Div. FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER -- Ahmed’s whole body shook as Capt. Sayed Ali, from Long Island, N.Y., the surgeon assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, examined him. Ahmed, a 24-year-old cab driver, was driving his cab when an insurgent roadside...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, Jan. 9, 2008 – Medics from 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, and 489th Civil Affairs Battalion, a reserve unit from Knoxville, Tenn., attached to 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, conducted a medical operation in Tameem, southeast of Baghdad, Jan. 5. An Iraqi policeman with 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division, distributes water supplied by 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, to a citizen of Tameem, a village southeast of Baghdad, Jan. 5, 2008. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Iraq’s 3rd Brigade, 1st National Police Division, provided security for...

VICTORY BASE COMPLEX, Iraq, Aug. 27, 2007 — Since the beginning of the war Americans have provided basic medical care to Iraqis, but more and more Iraqi medics are treating their own countrymen. Members of Task Force Vigilant, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y., coordinated with Iraqi medics and doctors to conduct a combined medical engagement outside Victory Base Complex, Aug. 24 "Today is a good day to show the Iraqi people we can help them. It is my job to help them and I am glad that I am able to." Dr. Zetad...

DUBAI (Reuters) - Foreign medics freed from a Libyan jail were tortured into confessing they deliberately infected hundreds of Libyan children with HIV, a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said in remarks broadcast on Thursday. The five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor were freed on July 24 after a deal between Tripoli and the European Union, having spent eight years in jail. The lawyer of the Palestinian doctor told Reuters on Tuesday the doctor was tortured into confessing he deliberately infected the children and that he planned to a complain to a U.N. human rights panel. Gaddafi's son...

U.S. Army combat medics, Spc. Aimee Collver (foreground) and Spc. Vanessa Bolognese (background), both with the 25th Infantry Division’s 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Personal Security Detachment, help pull security during a mission in Amerli, Iraq, July 11, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Mike Alberts Female Combat Medics Fight Every Day, Earn Respect Missions find success with support of dedicated female soldiers. By Spc. Mike Alberts 3rd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs KIRKUK, Iraq, Aug. 1, 2007 — Temperatures exceeded 115 degrees during the five-hour mission in Amerli that day. More than 50 soldiers were on site and...

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Wednesday on a trip to deepen relations after helping to resolve a diplomatic standoff that hurt the oil exporter's ties with the West. Libyan officials said the two countries would sign an accord on cooperation on a military-industrial partnership and another to activate what they called a previous agreement on cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Sarkozy, who met Gaddafi in a tent in the compound of his Tripoli residence, has said he wants to help Libya return to the "concert of nations" after it...

1st Lt. Terri Gurrola, medic in Company C, 203rd Forward Support Battalion, casts the leg of Hussein, a 15-year-old Iraqi boy, April 9, at Forward Operating Base Hammer, Iraq. Hussein lost his leg in an improvised explosive device incident four years ago. Photo courtesy of 203rd Brigade Support Battalion Medics Bring Hope to Iraqi boy Soldiers fit 15-year-old for new prosthetic leg. By Sgt. Natalie Rostek 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq, April 17, 2007 — Medics from Company C, 203rd Forward Support Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, gave...

WASHINGTON, March 8, 2007 – The Armed Services YMCA paid tribute to military medics and corpsmen here last night during its first Angels of the Battlefield awards dinner. Recipients of the Armed Services YMCA Angels of the Battlefield award pose for a photo with Marine Gen. James T. Conway (far right), commandant of the Marine Corps, and Eugene E. Habiger (far left), chairman of the Armed Services YMCA. The Armed Services YMCA honored military medics and corpsmen in Washington on March 7 during its Angels of the Battlefield awards dinner. Photo by Steven Donald Smith  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

Paratroopers Trade Shop Tools for Security Duty Mechanics, cooks, medics keep watch for VIPs, dignitaries. By Sgt. Timothy Dinneen Regional Command-East Public Affairs CHARIKAR, Afghanistan, March 5, 2007 -- Paratroopers that once spent their days making sure Humvees were ready for battle as mechanics at Fort Bragg, N.C., have exchanged their shop tools for M-4s and are now the driving force outside the wire as part of Task Force Gladius’ personal security detachment. "I trained with them and know what they can do, and they can do their jobs,"Army Cpl. Timothy Cozelos Mechanics, cooks, medics and other 82nd Airborne...

Staff Sgt. Jonathon Cagle comforts his daughter, Skylar, Jan. 17 before leaving for Afghanistan from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. Sergeant Cagle, a biomedical equipment repair technician assigned to the 60th Medical Support Squadron, is one of more than 100 Airmen from the 60th Medical Group who have deployed to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, to staff the Air Force Theater Hospital there. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jim Spellman) TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNEWS)  -- Approximately 100 Airmen from the 60th Medical Group at David Grant Medical Center deployed in January to the largest military hospital in Afghanistan. The 455th Expeditionary...

Female Medics Earn Respect from Afghan Army Afghan soldiers now trust these women with their lives. By 1st Lt. Amanda Straub 41st Brigade Combat Team GARDEZ, Afghanistan, Jan. 30, 2007 -- Oregon Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Jo Turner and Spc. Cheryl Ivanov have found a niche in a “Good Ol' Boys' Club” while serving in Afghanistan. "They stared and stared at first. Then they saw us sleep on the ground like they did and eat their food like they did." Spc. Cheryl Ivanov, combat medic Turner, from Springfield, Ore., and Ivanov, from Coos Bay, are female combat medics...

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait, Jan. 14, 2007 – Soldiers throughout history have marched into battle fortified by the prayers of their spiritual leaders. But the healers who care for those soldiers when they fall got a special blessing here Jan. 12 as they prepare to move with their 82nd Airborne Division into Iraq. The 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team held a service here to bless the brigade's medical personnel before they deploy. The 2nd BCT is expected to deploy into Baghdad soon to help reclaim neighborhoods controlled by insurgents. Paratroopers from the 2nd BCT's 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute...

Spc. Adam DeCap (from left), Sgt. Scott Meyers, and Sgt. 1st Class Brian Meade saved four Iraqis with their quick actions. CAMP CORREGIDOR -- The fast actions of medics in the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment helped save the lives of three Iraqi children and their grandfather after mortar attacks by insurgent attacks. The aid station medics received the family and provided medical care until the four casualties could be transported for further treatment. Sgt. 1st Class Brian W. Meade, of Elkhorn City, Ky., the medical platoon sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, was on duty when the casualties arrived....

BAGHDAD, Dec. 26, 2006 – It was a scene straight from “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” or maybe “Willard.” American soldiers walking through a dimly lit, underground command bunker once used by a brutal dictator, now filled with hundreds of rats. Throw in a snake or two, and you have the perfect setting for a horror movie. Rats devoured cases of military rations left in Saddam Hussein’s underground bunker outside Baghdad. The rats then used the boxes for nesting. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Bobby Hart  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. But it was not a movie. Soldiers...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE LOYALTY, Iraq, Nov. 28, 2006 -- The medics of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, train hard to save the lives of any soldier, and sometimes that includes the lives of soldiers they work with on a daily basis. Army Pfc. Chris Llewellyn, a medic with the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, preps Spc. Clint Zeller for an intravenous injection at Forward Operating Base Loyalty, Iraq. Photo by Spc. Courtney Marulli, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. These Army medics found out quickly they have little time to adjust from garrison to...

Iraqi Army field medic Sabah prepares to take the blood pressure of an Iraqi National Police officer. Photos by U.S. Navy Journalist 2nd Class John J. Pistone. BAGHDAD -- Life in Iraq is often without conveniences western cultures can take for granted. Even a simple visit to the doctor’s office for treatment or medicine can be an arduous task.For Iraqi policemen, making that trip can be even more painstaking because of the particular dangers and security threats associated with their jobs.Iraqi Army field medics, along with Coalition doctors, are now making house calls to Iraqi National Police units to alleviate...

CAMP TAJI – From battle wounds to bruises, military doctors are out in the local neighborhoods making a difference—one Iraqi at a time. As the Iraqi police provided security, Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, along with an Iraqi doctor and an Iraqi nurse, conducted a medical operation in Mushada community north of Baghdad. During the operation, medical staff saw more than 300 residents for a variety of ailments, and gave locals free pharmaceuticals to help curb whatever ailments the patients were experiencing. “This is the first MedOp I’ve been on since I’ve been stationed at...

BAGHDAD -- As Iraq slowly recovers from more than 30 years of bondage and dictatorship, honorable citizens, dedicated to changing the face of their nation, continue to step forward to serve their people. Two such Iraqis were chosen to complete a two-week internship with the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, after recently graduating from the Iraqi Army Service and Support Institute ‘s Basic Medic Course in Taji.The medics spent their time in the trauma center working 12-hour days, assisting Coalition forces with the care of patients suffering from gunshot wounds and other penetrating and blunt battlefield trauma.Iraqi Army Pvts....

Medics Provide Health Services to Villagers U.S. and Iraqi medics team up to conduct a community health outreach for the citizens of Hor al Bash, Iraq. By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Joe Flores CAMP TAJI, Iraq. Aug. 28, 2006-- Under the blazing Iraqi sun, Iraqi army and U.S. Army soldiers from Multi-National Division - Baghdad fought the Middle East heat to conduct a community health outreach for the people of Hor al Bash.Soldiers of the 2nd Tank Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, and 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, with the help...

By Sgt. 1st Class Joe Flores 4th Infantry DivisionCapt. Evan Jones, physician’s assistant, 4th Infantry Division, checks a local boy at a medical operation in Hor al-Bash on Sunday. Department of Defense photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Joe Flores, 4th ID. CAMP TAJI -- Under the blazing Iraqi sun, Iraqi Army and Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldiers fought the heat to conduct a community health outreach for the people of Hor al-Bash on Sunday.Soldiers of the 9th Iraqi Army Division and the U.S.' 4th Infantry Division, with the help of medics from the 414th Civil Affairs Battalion, joined together...

Every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine, every man and woman who serves this great nation, deserves our eternal thanks, admiration and respect. The difference between our current engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war in Vietnam is this: we, as a nation, have matured enough to recognize that we need to support our men and women in service: no matter our political position on the conflict. .....While no segment of our military population deserves more or less credit and thanks than any other, we might take a moment to recognize the valor, selfless giving and dedication exhibited by...

8/10/2006 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq -- Airmen here supported an Army forward surgical team in providing medical treatment to detainees as they transitioned from the Abu Ghraib Theater Internment Facility to a new facility on Camp Cropper near Baghdad. Multi-National Force-Iraq officials established the new facility July 30 to replace Abu Ghraib, which is closing. "Within 72 hours we went from three to 16 hospital beds and increased our operating room tables from one to two," said Col. (Dr.) Chris Lisanti, 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron commander. Soldiers from the Army's 772nd Forward Surgical Team and the 21st Combat Support...

U.S. Air Force Maj. Kurt Workmaster, Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team physician assistant, checks the blood pressure of an elder in the Paryan District, Afghanistan, July 16, 2006. Three medics from the Panjshir PRT treated more than 200 patients during the Medical Civic Action Program, or MEDCAP, which was coordinated at the invitation of Panjshir Director of Health Dr. Jellani. U.S. Air Force photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Cumper Medics Visit Remote Afghan District Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team treats more than 200 patients. By Air Force Capt. Joe Campbell Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, July 25,...

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 23, 2006 — The Afghan National Army increases its capabilities every six weeks when it graduates more than 80 force multiplying medics. After graduating basic training at Kabul Military Training Center, selected soldiers attend the Combat Medic Course at the Afghan National Hospital. It is the only advanced medical training in the Afghan National Army. “The soldiers that come here to learn are among the best serving in the [Afghan National Army]. They are eager to learn and employ the knowledge and skills they have been taught.” Afghan Sgt. Jamil After graduating, combat medic soldiers report to...

IRAQI police discovered Abu Musab al-Zarqawi alive in the rubble of his bombed safe house, then watched him try to roll off a stretcher before dying, it emerged yesterday.Announcing his death, US officials said on Thursday that the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq had been found dead after two F16s dropped a pair of 500lb bombs on his safe house in Hibhib, a village in Diyala province 48km (30 miles) northeast of Baghdad. But Major-General Bill Caldwell said that he had learnt early yesterday that al-Zarqawi had survived the initial airstrikes on his two-floor breeze-block hideout. “We did, in fact,...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, May 17, 2006) – Iraqi Army Soldiers are now bringing their own medics to the battlefield. During Operation Iron Triangle, medics from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, were a prevalent force among detainees. “My duty is to help anyone who is sick or a casualty,” said 1st Sgt. Zaed Sudan, an Iraqi Army medic who helped check and treat detainees. “If there were casualties on any side we would work together to take care of them,” said Sudan. “We are ready at any time for what may happen.” Working with coalition...

5/8/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- To say the staff at Balad’s Air Force Theater Hospital has seen everything may be an understatement. The doctors, nurses and medics here, some from McChord Air Force Base and Madigan Army Medical Center in the state of Washington, save the lives of servicemembers who are wounded while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. From injured Soldiers rushed in by helicopter to wounded insurgents, the patients they see run the gamut. The patients are Iraqi police, military, civilians and insurgents, in-country nationals, coalition civilians and military, American civilians and, of course, American servicemembers. “We...

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2006 – Coalition forces sent medical personnel to provide emergency treatment to the victims of a plane crash in Afghanistan's Helmand province today, and Marines in Kunar province are giving villagers free medical treatment, military officials reported. Three people are confirmed dead and several people were injured in the plane crash, including six people taken to Kandahar Airfield for treatment. Initial reports indicate the plane attempted to avoid a truck and overran the airport runway, crashing into a nearby village. "When we were alerted that an airplane had crashed, the coalition immediately sent medical support to assist...

DULUIYA, Iraq (Army News Service, March 28, 2006) – Soldiers of Task Force Band of Brothers conducted medical screenings of Iraqi citizens on the Jabouri Peninsula March 27. The screenings came nine days after forces netted thousands of pounds in artillery and mortar rounds, rockets, air-defense rockets, ammunition, machine guns, materials for improvised explosive devices and other terrorist weapons along the Tigris River. Medics from the 1-8 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division – along with civil affairs Soldiers – held the health assessment at a...

SAMARRA, Iraq (March 27, 2006) – The Army has a catchphrase; “Adapt, improvise and overcome,” and that is just what medics at Forward Operating Base Brassfield-Mora are doing. 2nd Lt. Edward C.F. Lau, Evacuation Platoon Leader, 690th Medical Company in support of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, FOB Brassfield-Mora in Samarra had an idea to implement the design for a new medical evacuation platform. “My chain of command gave the opportunity to implement a new ground evacuation doctrine, and depending on its success, it will be the new standard for ground patient movement in Iraq,” says...

3/9/2006 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Several times a week, medics from the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron take a break from their normal “hustle and bustle” work schedule at the clinic to help local Iraqis who feel under the weather. The medics head out close to the wire to see these patients at the Radhwaniya Medical Clinic Outreach Program building. Tech. Sgt. Michelle Du Lac picked up her stethoscope to listen to a young boy’s chest who hasn’t been feeling too well lately. “Can you tell him to breathe hard again for me?” she asked the interpreter. The...

3/6/2006 - Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras (AFPN) -- Airmen and Soldiers treated five Cuban citizens when their car crashed through the base’s perimeter fence March 1. The driver lost control of the car and ran off the road at approximately 6:15 a.m., rolling the vehicle several times and ultimately crashing through Soto Cano Air Base’s perimeter fence. The victims are among 300 Cuban medical personnel assigned in Honduras and were traveling to Comayagua from Tegucigalpa at the time of the crash. Base personnel responded quickly, as joint security forces secured the scene and medical element troops triaged the patients....

TIKRIT, Iraq, Feb. 21, 2006 — Much has been said about the importance of top-tier military medicine to the survival of soldiers in combat. Regardless of which country a soldier serves, quality medics are valued by the troops. Studies show that if critically wounded soldiers receive quality health care within the first hour after the incident, they will have the best probability of survival. “[The Iraqi medics are] always excited about learning, and they know a lot more than you think.” U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Stevens Medics from 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and 3rd...

2/9/2006 - U.S. MILITARY GROUP QUITO, Ecuador (AFPN) -- It was a busy day for the 21st Medical Group -- 1,501 patients seen in eight hours during a medical readiness exercise here. The constant stream of Ecuadorians moved through the treatment areas like a quiet, but strong steam engine. There was a sense of calm and orderliness as the Ecuadorian Army security team kept the crowds in control, which helped facilitate the number of people seen Feb. 7 in the small village of Otavalo. U.S. and Ecuadorian Air Force doctors worked side-by-side to treat Ecuadorian patients. In four isolated towns,...

Soldiers training Iraqi medics in Combat Lifesaving By Staff Sgt. Jesse C. Riggin A Soldier from Company D, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, practices IV therapy on his comrade as a medic from 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment guides him through the process. Photo contributed by 2-9 Medical Operations team. Printer-friendly version AD DAWR, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 7, 2006) – Eight Iraqi soldiers were recently awarded Combat Life Saver certificates after receiving training in basic medical diagnostic and treatment procedures from 2-9 Cavalry troopers. “Anything that we can do – combined operations, training them, supplying them,...

WASHINGTON — Marine medics in Iraq are more likely to face serious injury or death than are the riflemen they’re working to help, according to the assistant commandant. Gen. Robert Magnus said Tuesday that statistics from Corps health officials show that the job of the combat medic, or Navy corpsman, is among the most dangerous in the war, in large part because of the situations they put themselves in. “They’re literally moving in and moving out of the fight to get to their patients,” he said. “They’re among the first to go into battle, and they’re right in the middle...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan. 16, 2006 – Eleven people wounded during a Jan. 14 bombing attacks in Khowst, Afghanistan, were treated by U.S. medical personnel at Forward Operating Base Salerno, military officials in the Afghan capital of Kabul reported today. Two of the 11 have since been released from care, officials said; the rest were reported to be in stable condition. "The local medical facilities in Khowst were overwhelmed by the number of patients, and we were able to step in and assist with their care and treatment," said Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara, Combined Joint Task Force 76 spokesman. "There were...

12/28/2005 - PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Ore. (AFPN) -- More than 50 years after it entered the Air Force, aircrews are still finding ways to increase the capabilities of the KC-135 Stratotanker. Ten reservists from the 939th Air Refueling Wing here and four the 349th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., demonstrated the airplane has valuable medical-evacuation capabilities. The team practiced transporting patients with battlefield injuries during a three-day mission to Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay. The base is home to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. The medevac mission is just a few years old for the...

12/27/2005 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- In a sea of tents and trailers on Balad Air Base in northern Iraq, shrapnel is being surgically removed from a limb, medics are racing to stop someone from bleeding to death and another life is being saved from wounds inflicted on the battlefield. It is that sea of tents which houses the Air Force theater hospital, where servicemembers and civilians get the most advanced medical care possible in a combat zone. Run by the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group, the hospital offers trauma and specialized medical care for people throughout Iraq and...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Nov. 23, 2005) -- Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, conducted a medical capabilities assessment and clinic in Baghdad Nov. 18. Medics set up the clinic in a local school, saw more than 100 residents, and dispensed medical advice and basic treatments. “It’s basically a sick call for the people of Baghdad that we’re running here,” said Capt. Scott Baumgartner, 1st Bn., 9th FA physician’s assistant. “We saw an opportunity to do something good for the Iraqi people and followed up on it.” School workers cleaned out two classrooms and medics set up a triage...