Wapalota, Hungary-In the US Army, every soldier must know how to prepare and use two common types of information: call fire and nine lines of medical evacuation requests.
On June 3, in Valpalota, Hungary, during the 2019 Sabre Guardian exercise jointly led by the Romanian Army and the U.S. European Army, U.S. Army medical personnel from the 1st Squadron of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment demonstrated the latter as a simulated medical treatment. Send part of the rehearsal. 2019. SG19 is part of the 2019 summer series of exercises aimed at improving interoperability and readiness. It will be held at different locations in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania from June 3 to 24.
"Medical evacuation, especially air medical evacuation, like any tactical military campaign, becomes extremely complicated when integrating allied and cooperative forces and requires diligent rehearsal to proceed correctly," the regiment surgeon of the 2CR Regiment Support Squadron Major Gordon Mok said. "Hungary has an advanced trauma care system. We must establish this relationship and understanding of interoperability with the host country's medical system in order to effectively use this resource as a medical power multiplier."
With the support of SG19, 1/2CR medical staff captured the real urgency of transferring patients from role 1 to role 3 care during rehearsal. Special Forces Myko Coker is an infantryman and driver assigned to the headquarters and headquarters forces, 1/2CR, who volunteered to be a patient during the simulated MEDVAC rehearsal.
"I simulated his dislocated shoulder injury, so we clamped his shoulder with a tie," Spc said. Joshua Remy, combat medical expert and medical platoon driver, HHT, 1/2CR.
"He had a laceration on his head, so I bandaged it with some corn on the cob. We didn't make much pressure dressing here because it would crush his skull. His left leg was bleeding, so I used a hemostat belt."
Although non-medical soldiers participating in the combat lifeguard course learn basic techniques to provide first aid and trauma care to soldiers when they do not have certified medical personnel, the U.S. Army relies heavily on advanced training of medical personnel in life-and-death situations.
"He also had a gunshot wound to his lower pelvis, so we put a dressing on the groin to keep pressure on the wound," Remy said. "This groin dressing is only taught to medical staff; it is a bit too advanced for CLS."
After initial care, the U.S. Army medical staff transported Coker to the next stage of role 1 care, where a nine-line medical evacuation was reported. The next stage of medical staff conducted further assessments, including drawing blood, checking the patient’s pulse and blood pressure, wearing a neck brace to prevent further injuries, and updating the patient’s casualty card.
Upon completion, the patient was transported to the Stryker M1133 medical evacuation vehicle. Christian Cortez, 2CR aid station, HHT, 1/2CR combat medical expert and health care non-commissioned officer.
"Once he enters the MEV, the focus is to re-evaluate everything that has been done until we enter the next line of care, in which case we will take him to a bird to perform role 2 and role 3," Ke Ertes said.
"Throughout the process, I ensured that his interventions can still control the blood and that the drugs we gave him are effective. He is still vigilant and his vital signs have not collapsed. I just basically kept him alive until we reach a more accurate one. The high echelon allows him to undergo surgery or whatever he needs."
The soldiers transported the Coker from the Stryker MEV to the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, where the flying medical team composed of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade protected the patient and transported him to the Split Operation Military Hospital in Budapest, Hungary. Through a language expert contracted with Mission Essential to help resolve any language barriers between the US Army medical staff and the local Hungarian medical staff, the occupancy rate provided by SBO doubled the surgical and trauma capabilities of the family station.
“Having American medical evacuations at the station helps to reassure ground commanders that their soldiers will receive the best en-route care in the world,” said 12th Air Force Officer Kevin Zuni Jiawei. “Rehearsal with the host country’s medical assets It helps to build the confidence of all parties that the process we have developed will play a role in real-world events."