teach the jundis (privates in the Iraqi army) how to prepare a casualty for transport using an aircraft. “We receive about 80 missions a week,” said U.S. Army Capt. Chris Chang, operations officer for Company C, from Harker Heights, Texas. “About two-thirds of them are roadside missions, and the rest are medical transfers.” A roadside mission is when the aircraft picks up a patient near the point of injury and takes the casualty to a medical facility, such as a combat support hospital. A medical transfer flight is a mission moving patients from one medical facility to another. The hands-on training paid off for the Iraqi soldiers, who honed their skills under the watchful eyes of the Military Transition Team. “This training was very important,” said U.S. Army Capt. Barrett May, the range officer-in-charge, who hails from Spartanburg, S.C., and the logistics advisor on the transition team. “They need to have the ability to sustain themselves in the field.” “We teach them and show them as much as we can,” explained U.S. Army Cpl. Richard Binks, a medic on the transition team, who is from Spanish Fork, Utah. “But until they can do it themselves (using hands-on training), then they can really learn.” During the after-action review of the training, U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class David Rasmussen, a Military Transition Team company advisor, from Bismarck, N.D., praised the Iraqi soldiers. “Good job. You did the right things. You were fast.” “I want to thank you (Military Transition Team) for your help in the training,” Rieiyad added. “We thank our American brothers for their support.” |