Airmen share EMEDS capabilities

Published May 11, 2008
By U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe Public Affairs

DIVULJE TRAINING BASE, Croatia -- (Editor's note: This article is the third in a series covering training during the Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe 2008.)

Students at the 2008 Medical Training Exercise in Central and Eastern Europe (MEDCEUR) spent the day becoming familiar with Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) equipment May 9 in preparation for a mass-causality exercise.

Airmen in the U.S. Air Force medical career field spent the day explaining the layout of their EMEDS field hospital with fellow medical professionals from 14 nations who are participating in MEDCEUR. The exercise, running from May 2 through 14, 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.

The familiarization tour was designed to provide a sense of the capabilities here and an idea of how everything is structured, said U.S. Air Force Maj. Mike Petro, 458th Expeditionary Medical Squadron (EMDS). He is a general surgeon deployed here from Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany. "This will be particularly important once we start treating simulated victims in the mass-casualty exercise."

An EMEDS team can carry a field hospital in five backpacks. They can set the hospital up and be operational in two hours.

The purpose of an EMEDS set-up is to provide temporary patient care, Petro said. Surgeons will only perform limb- and life- saving surgeries in an EMEDS field hospital. Medics send patients to theater hospitals since helicopters generally arrive so fast. This is because the area is not always the most sterile environment. In addition, the initial EMEDS team only has a limited amount of surgical supplies.

The ability to track patients falls to the command and control (C2) section when dealing with mass causalities.

"Patient administration specialists are the brain behind this team, because patient accountability is the number-one thing," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Quyen Ngo, 458th EMDS. He is a bioenvironmental equipment technician deployed here from the 435th Medical Support Squadron (MDSS) at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

In addition to tracking patient care the C2 EMEDS tent area also provides support that ranges from generator power to equipment repair capabilities to the medical team.
"We are the foundation," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey White, 458th EMDS. He is a medical services corps officer deployed here from the 435th MDSS from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. "When there is a strong foundation people don't think about what we do. The best thing is for no one to realize we're around. That means everything' s going right."

Students took the time to use equipment and ask questions throughout the familiarization tour to ensure they had an understanding of how the U.S. medical team processed patients before the mass casualty begins the next day. Some people asked questions to gain an understanding of capabilities; others focused on who was responsible for what types of care. An area that the foreign medical personnel commented on was the level of expertise shown by U.S. enlisted services members.

"They see how much we have command of and are surprised," Ngo said. "Our government has provided us an extensive education. They ensure we have the tools and know-how to perform very specialized tasks."

Language is one factor that could cause a bump when providing care during in a multi-national response.

However, Staff Sgt. Alex Farfan, 458th EMDS, an aerospace medical technician, said he doesn't believe this will be an issue. "You don't have to speak the same language to understand medicine," said Farfan, deployed here from the 52nd Medical Operations Squadron at Spandahlem Air Base, Germany.

Azerbaijan Army 2nd Lt. Ramil Teymurov from the Military Medical Facility of Azerbaijan Medical University (MMFAMU) said he was impressed by what he saw in the EMEDS tents. "I would like to get some of this equipment in our country," he said. "The tour exceeded my expectations. I was also glad to see the equipment is compatible."

Likewise, Azerbaijan Army Maj. Ali Aliyev from the MMFAMU said he is looking forward to helping people with his general surgery skills.

Fellow Azerbaijan Army MMFAMU medical personnel seem excited about the mass-casualty exercise. "I am looking forward to participating in the triage of patients," said 2nd Lt. Elshan Valiyev.