News

Medical reservists train in joint environment

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nick Przybyciel
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  "Who wants to be dead?"

Several hands shot up, followed with a few emphatic pleas of "Me, me, me!"

With that taken care of, Tech. Sgt. Paul Hall continued. "Forty-two year old with burns to face and arms?"

There was only one taker that time.

"Second-degree burns on the hands? Anyone?" Sergeant Hall begged, trying to fill another volunteer role for the simulated mass casualty accident.

While a training scenario should mimic reality as much as possible, Reservists from the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron participating in a May 17-20 joint force exercise were allowed one luxury not present in the real world. They could choose their injuries.

About 140 Airmen and Soldiers from Fort Lewis participated in the exercise, which was designed to incorporate lessons learned from previous deployments, as well as provide a unique training opportunity for new Airmen, according to Lt. Col. Karen Winter, flight training planner for the 446th ASTS.

Working together with their Army counterparts from Fort Lewis, the Reservists from the 446th ASTS practiced like they play by handling mad rushes of patients, coordinating between multiple agencies, and handling surprises ... lots and lots of surprises.

"We're creative," Col. Winter said.

Proof of this creativity happened on day three of the four-day exercise, with a simulated mass-casualty scenario that tested the squadron's ability to respond to a crisis with minimal manpower. A bus packed full of ASTS Reservists shuttling simulated patients to a medical center was ordered to stop by Sergeant Hall, who was onboard as an exercise evaluator monitoring his fellow Reservists.

"This bus is now part of the exercise," Sergeant Hall's voice boomed, as he directed the driver to inch the vehicle next to a van that was pre-positioned in the grass, in order to simulate a vehicle crash.

Those medical professionals onboard taking care of injured patients were now patients.

Greatly outnumbered, four ASTS Airmen who were not on the bus, responded and provided initial medical care to their now injured squadron mates. Operating under less-than-ideal conditions is part of ASTS's unpredictable mission.

"We've taken the lessons learned from last year's deployment (to Iraq), and we've been able to come back and build the lessons into our training," Colonel Winter said.

After being bumped earlier in the year from the annual joint agency medical training exercise Ultimate Caduceus, 446th ASTS leaders decided to create an exercise that would be just as beneficial for their Airmen. Putting their heads together with their Army counterparts at Fort Lewis, they designed a local exercise that would test the units' abilities to care for personnel injured in the field.

Establishing a medical staging facility on Fort Lewis representing Balad Air Base, Iraq, C-17 missions were generated to transport victims to McChord, which represented Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

Using the same patient tracking systems as they do in the field, the ASTS Reservists triaged and cared for the victims at McChord's staging site before transporting them to permanent medical facilities.

A C-17 mission was also flown to Yakima, Wash., as part of the exercise, to pick up a simulated patient. Onboard was a 446th ASTS critical care air transport team, which provides intensive care to critically-injured patients in-flight.

While Colonel Winter approximates that 70 percent of her squadron has deployed in the past three years, the exercise provides an initial dress rehearsal of contingency operations for several of the squadron's newer Reservists.

"It's helped me a lot," said Senior Airman Nicole Hutchison, an Airman new to the 446th ASTS. "I haven't deployed yet, so the exercise has given me a better idea of what to expect (through experience), rather than just telling me."

Treating simulated patients alongside her seasoned coworkers, Airman Hutchison benefited from their knowledge gained both in the field and in formal education.

"For the most part, people had extremely positive comments," said Colonel Winter. "If we have to deploy again, our people feel the experience gained from this exercise will benefit them greatly," Colonel Winter said.

It will also benefit the Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors who don't have the luxury of hand picking their injuries.