SOCCENT, 379th Expeditionary Medical Group conduct training exercise

The 379th Expeditionary Medical Group and Special Operations Command Central, participated in an exercise September 24th at Al Udeid Air Base.

The goal of the exercise was to train for simulated receipt of casualties in a building of opportunity in darkness. 

“A team can be called upon to set-up in a variety of environments based on their mission, so this gives them practice honing their skills,” said U.S. Air Force Capt. Theresa Paxton, SOCCENT Forward medical operations officer.

The Mobile Field Surgical Team and Expeditionary Critical Care Team trained with the opportunity to perform under decreased visibility and in a confined space.

“They received two rounds of ‘patients’ to run through,” said Paxton. “These patients were both moulaged individuals and training mannequins. The injuries mimicked were those that would most likely be presented to the team in a real world scenario, such as gunshot wounds and head injuries.”

“The Mobile Field Surgical Team and Expeditionary Critical Care Team are comprised of medical providers and support staff currently deployed to the AUAB medical center,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Vanessa Bates, 379th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron operating room technician. “This team both supports SOCCENT and U.S. Air Forces Central Command missions.”

SOCCENT medical staff supplied moulaged patients and the training location while the 379th EMDG medical readiness and logistics coordinated delivery of the medical supplies to the training location.

“The staff did an awesome job putting the exercise together and I think the training definitely helped our team put everything in perspective,” said Bates. 

“This exercise was more realistic then previous exercises and provided useful feedback to the team for improvements and lessons learned,” said Paxton.

Exercises can be very challenging, and it is apparent that this one was a great success.

“The event went well, our team worked together and accomplished the goal, said Bates.  “It was a great training experience and an eye opener to all the little things that need to happen during these situations.”