Reserve medics hone life-saving skills in exercise

  • Published
  • By Capt. Marnee A.C. Losurdo
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  "Help; Help; Somebody help me," echoed throughout the field. A military medic ran to help an injured servicemember lying on the ground. She was one of many wounded in the area.

Although simulated, the mass casualty exercise was designed to simulate real-world conditions from the aftermath of a hurricane, and 60 reservists with the 512th Aerospace Medicine Squadron were put to the test April 13 at Dover Air Force Base, Del.

The 512th AMDS is comprised of 90 members whose occupations range from flight surgeons and general practice physicians to medical administrators and laboratory technicians. The squadron maintains the medical records for more than 1,800 Airmen and provides them with medical, dental and eye examinations to ensure they are qualified for worldwide deployment.

Another aspect of their job is to keep their life-saving skills honed in the event of an accident, armed attack or natural disaster that would produce a large number of casualties in a short period of time.

The annual exercise encompassed all types of training scenarios, from efficiently triaging patients to save as many lives as possible to bandaging broken limbs.

"It was designed to maintain unit member's currency while evaluating their communication skills, medic field skills and response times to emergencies, said Capt. John Rundle, 512th AMDS exercise planner.

It's also an opportunity for us to see how we would respond in a real-world situation with limited resources and staff, said Staff Sgt. Ebony Tate, 512th AMDS administrative technician.

Dealing with limited resources was the most challenging aspect of the exercise according to Senior Airman Katherine Echem, 512th AMDS medical readiness technician who, when not in Reserve status, is a nursing student at Wesley College.

"This can be very true to life," said Echem. "So, it's good we take the opportunity to do this type of training to ensure we are ready at any time if real-world events occur. Participating in exercises such as this prepares our unit to respond to a variety of incidents."