MEDCEUR closing ceremony

DIVULJE TRAINING BASE, Croatia – Croatian Army Lt. Col. Davorko Jokic, MEDCEUR co-commander; bids farewell to U.S. Air Force Col. Angela Thompson, 458th Expeditionary Medical Squadron commander; May 14 during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe (MEDCEUR) here. Fifteen nations are participating in the exercise from May 2 through 14. The exercise focuses on mass-casualty training scenarios and humanitarian aid in response to crises situations. MEDCEUR is a Joint Chiefs of Staff regional/multilateral exercise sponsored by U.S. European Command. Croatia is hosting the 2008 exercise which has drawn about 400 multi-nationals in support of the Partnership for Peace initiative. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kristin Ruleau)

MEDCEUR closing ceremony

DIVULJE TRAINING BASE, Croatia – U.S. Air Force Col. Kevin Ross, MEDCEUR commander, gives a final salute to the Albanian Delegation Chief May 14 during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe (MEDCEUR) here. Fifteen nations are participating in the exercise from May 2 through 14. The exercise focuses on mass-casualty training scenarios and humanitarian aid in response to crises situations. MEDCEUR is a Joint Chiefs of Staff regional/multilateral exercise sponsored by U.S. European Command. Croatia is hosting the 2008 exercise which has drawn about 400 multi-nationals in support of the Partnership for Peace initiative. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kristin Ruleau)

MEDCEUR closing ceremony

DIVULJE TRAINING BASE, Croatia – U.S. Air Force Col. Kevin Ross, MEDCEUR commander, gives his final remarks May 14 during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe (MEDCEUR) here. Fifteen nations are participating in the exercise from May 2 through 14. The exercise focuses on mass-casualty training scenarios and humanitarian aid in response to crises situations. MEDCEUR is a Joint Chiefs of Staff regional/multilateral exercise sponsored by U.S. European Command. Croatia is hosting the 2008 exercise which has drawn about 400 multi-nationals in support of the Partnership for Peace initiative. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Kristin Ruleau)

Multi-National exercise ends with praises

Published May 14, 2008
By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
al Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe Public Affairs

DIVULJE TRAINING BASE, Croatia -- Croatia hosted the closing ceremony for the 2008 Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe (MEDCEUR) here May 14.

MEDCEUR is a Joint Chiefs of Staff regional/multilateral exercise sponsored by U.S. European Command. The exercise provides an opportunity for medical personnel to share expertise with their Central and Eastern European regional counterparts. Croatia hosted the 2008 exercise in support of the Partnership for Peace initiative May 2 through 14.

"There may come a time when we are not using moulage or simulated scenarios - though I pray our next meeting is one of pleasant circumstances - we may be forced to meet when real lives are at stake," said Col. Kevin Ross MEDCEUR exercise director. "If that day comes, I will face it with confidence knowing you are there."

The exercise began with a week of readiness classes and was followed by an evaluated response to a simulated earthquake.

"Everybody did very well," said Tech. Sgt. Mike Copland, 458th Expeditionary Medical Squadron an Expeditionary Medical Support instructor who is deployed here from the U.S. School of Aerospace Medicine. "The players spent the first day trying to figure out what was going on, like in most exercises. The second day everyone was working well as a team and by the third day operations were perfect. That last day we threw every possible scenario we could at them and they handled it flawlessly."

Visiting Lt. Gen. Rod Bishop the 3rd Air Force commander from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, had the opportunity to watch the military medics put their training into action the final day of the exercise.

"This opportunity to work together and practice together was great," General Bishop said. "It was a wonderful opportunity for medical people from different nations to train together and work on interoperability in a type of training event that could mirror future operations."

More than 50 instructors provided approximately 300 medical professionals 380 hours of education during the exercise.

The director of Croatian military forces, Lt. Col. Mario Gjuric, said the exercise was a huge success. "This was a great chance for everyone to come together and learn how to operate as one team," he said. "The knowledge shared here will save lives in the future. We are very proud we were able to host MEDCEUR and be a part of this Partnership for Peace initiative."