AFSOC Airmen train with U.S., Polish medical personnel in mass casualty exercise

Published Oct. 18, 2010
By Tech. Sgt. Marilese Wood
352nd Special Operations Group Public Affairs

SWIDWIN, Poland -- To ensure the readiness of U.S. and Polish medical staff, a mass casualty exercise was conducted Sept. 18 at the 21st Tactical Airbase in Swidwin, Poland testing response capability in the event of a medical emergency. Hundreds of multinational military personnel participated in the Jackal Stone 10 exercise, including pararescuemen with the 321st Special Tactics Squadron.

Air Force Special Operations Command Airmen conducted Fast Rope Insertion Extraction System training at 21st Airbase Swidwin, Poland. The squadron is stationed at Royal Air Force Base in Mildenhall, England. The squadron is participating in the multi-nation training that takes place once a year.

Army Capt. Aaron Flagg, Joint Exercise Command Group, was involved in the planning of the mass casualty scenario. He was confident in the medical team's routine treatment of patients, but was more concerned about evaluating elements important to successful crisis care.

"The key thing was hashing out all the moving pieces and the communication plan so that in the case of a 'real world' casualty, everyone knows who needs to be called and what assets are needed so the patients are moved seamlessly," said Capt. Flagg.

Once the radio call was made alerting the base's medical facility that there were injured personnel somewhere on the base, both the U.S. and Polish staff quickly integrated despite having known each other for less than a week.

For Polish anesthesiologist Warrant Officer Anna Matulska, who was part of the medical team, the scenario was a familiar one.

"I've been deployed to Iraq before and it's the same way," Matulska said. "We have to work quickly, we have to triage and as in the case of our burn patients, we have to make sure they are kept warm."

The first step in keeping the 'patients' warm involved using scissors to cut their clothing from their bodies.The rooms were abuzz as the military medical team began assessing the 'patients' to determine how best to treat them.

Capt. Flagg was impressed with how well the initial portion of the scenario unfolded.

"The response time was good," he said. "We had first responders bring the patients to the clinic, at which time the military medical team started the resuscitation process. They next stabilized the patients enough to get them moved to the next level of care."

And while everything didn't go exactly as planned, during an exercise that's not necessarily a bad thing, according to Capt. Flagg.

"It helped us to identify some of the issues that we had with communication," Capt. Flagg said. "Because of the lack of landline assets, we thought we could rely on cell phones, but there were issues with that. Also, there were different communication platforms being used that weren't compatible, and that hindered communication between key elements. So doing an exercise like this was really insightful because it allows us to make adjustments in case we have to do it for real."

Even for a seasoned medic such as Matulska, this exercise was beneficial.

"It's important to have exercises like this," she said. "You learn to use equipment that may be different from what you're used to in your country."

Capt. Flagg said he particularly enjoyed working with the U.S. Air Force and the local medical personnel.

Air Force pararescuemen took the opportunity to recertify their fast roping insertion extraction system and repelling, and to train with U.S. Army personnel for continued joint operations. The 321st STS provide a fast reaction, rapidly-deployable force capable of establishing and providing positive control of the air to ground interface during special operations or conventional missions, including medical operations and exercises such as Jackal Stone 10.

"This was my first combined, joint exercise, so it helped because I was able to learn about what each of the different services and the local nationals have to offer in terms of medical care," he said.