 Iraqi Soldiers work quickly to treat a simulated casualty as the room they are in fills up with smoke during combat lifesaver training at Joint Security Station Salam, March 25. Photo by Sgt. Joshua Risner, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. MiTT members taught a variety of first aid techniques including treatment of head trauma, fractures, impaled objects and controlling bleeding. “Basically [the goal of the] training that we conducted is…to combine the experience of the Iraqi medics along with the American medics,” said Sgt. 1st Class Gary Petty, medical advisor, 6th IA Div. MiTT. “We’re trying to get them trained on trauma-type situations; things they can carry out on the battlefield.” The Iraqis also received instruction on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, according to Sgt. 1st Class Victor Orozco, a medical advisor with 6th IA Div. MiTT. “TC-3 is one of the new things the Army came up with; basically it describes phases of care,” he said. “It deals with care under fire … you’re out on patrol and someone goes down - what do you do? It refreshes perspective. You don’t stop what you do to take care of the casualty, you continue to fight.” Administering intravenous fluids, a mainstay of the combat lifesaver class, was a highlight, according to Petty, originally from Merritt Island, Fla. “For the I.V. sticks, the majority of the students we had have never done an I.V. before so it was a little interesting,” he said. “What we did was incorporate the [Iraqi] medics from the Engineer Battalion and the [Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance] Battalion, we allowed them to get involved and take charge of helping their own Soldiers conduct the I.V. training.” To further put the IA Soldiers at ease when working with needles, Petty demonstrated his trust in the Iraqis by letting one of their medics, Sgt. Maj. Shakir Kenyab Moktaf Farhan, 6th IA Div., administer an I.V. on him. Needles notwithstanding, most of the Iraqi Soldiers had no medical experience at all, according to Petty. “I’d say that for 90 to 95 percent of the students, it was their first medical training; the only people who had medical training were the actual medics,” he said. “They grasped the concept very fast, which I was pretty surprised. They were willing to learn, they were very motivated and it showed in the training.” In addition to the regular Soldiers, 6th IA Div. medics received instruction on teaching techniques so they can instruct their own Soldiers without the help of Coalition forces in the future. The training culminated with the IA Soldiers participated in a capstone exercise designed to put all their newly-learned skills to the test. “We want them to be able to think on their feet, not just talking in a classroom, but when they get into scenarios, they have to be able to think and process as it goes,” said Sgt. 1st Class Preston Grant, Karkh Area Command liaison, 6th IA Div. MiTT. The finale consisted of three separate scenarios: a mass casualty situation; a room clearing exercise with casualties; and an improvised explosive device explosion. “For the guys that don’t have a medic, at least they can have someone that does have some type of medical training that can take care of a person while out on a mission,” Petty said. (By Sgt. Joshua Risner, Multi-National Division – Baghdad) |
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