Posted on 03/02/2009 3:07:37 PM PST by SandRat
FOB WARRIOR — The sound of sirens and revving engines pierce the ears as Iraqis with simulated injuries are carried out of a large, inconspicuous-looking dining facility.
Several Iraqi Firemen, Police (IP) and Army (IA) emergency services personnel swarm with stretchers holding the “wounded” during a mass casualty training exercise held on Kirkuk Military Base, also known as K-1, Feb. 24.
The exercise was the culminating training event after a 17-day Combat Life Saver (CLS) course that took place on K-1. It was designed by both Iraqi and U.S. medical staff and was intended to replicate several mortar and bomb attacks—causing a total of 15 casualties—during which the participants were expected to use the skills learned in the CLS course.
The IP, IA and Firemen worked jointly and provided first responder medical care for each simulated casualty in order of priority. The casualties were loaded in order of critical need into ambulances and were transported to a nearby casualty collection point. The “critically injured” patients were evacuated to a hospital in Kirkuk city, while those listed with minor injuries were evacuated to the medical facilities on K-1.
Upon arrival to the K-1 clinic, the victims were rushed into the emergency room, where waiting doctors and assistants immediately began treating their wounds.
Soldiers from Company C., 15th Brigade Support Battalion, oversaw the functions of the Emergency Room, but were merely observers of the Iraqi doctors. The event was designed to test the skills that first responders learned during the CLS course.
“Between the CLS course and this training event, the CLS participants are now much more capable of performing vital life-saving skills,” said Ari F. Anwal, a doctor’s assistant at the K-1 medical facility.
During the CLS course, participants learned how to stop major bleeding, perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation, needle decompression and loading and unloading patients into ambulances.
“Accidents and attacks happen,” said Anwal. “People should know how to keep a casualty alive long enough for an ambulance to arrive. This event is the participant’s chance to use what they have learned and act with confidence. The exercise today was special because the medics and CF [Coalition Force] did such a great job replicating a real mass casualty event.”
“The participants did not know what kind of injuries to expect,” said Sgt. Vincent Todd, a medic for Company C. “We came here expecting to have to walk them through the CLS course and training event. But, they did a great job at doing what they have been trained to do: save lives.”
The training was also a chance to bring IP, Soldiers and Firefighters together, and teach them how to coordinate responses during a mass casualty event.
“It was good to bring all these different branches together,” said Anwal. “They got a chance to organize themselves and each group did its part.”
“It is important they are as prepared as us medically,” said Spc. Katherine Kaspari, the senior medic for Company C. “They are going to need to do this on their own. They are very disciplined and dedicated to learning. They put what they learned into action and the event was very successful.”
The training event wrapped up after the last patient was treated at the clinic. The participants took one final written test, Feb. 25, to be certified as combat life savers.
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