An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Inter-squadron training enhances readiness

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Burke Baker
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  It's a concept that seems entirely logical. Services that need to work together during an emergency situation, should train together. And in a deployed environment, the threat of an emergency situation requiring an effective, well-trained force of first responders is all too real.

Airmen from the 386th Expeditionary Medical Squadron and the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's Fire Department understand that efficiency, mutual cooperation, and effective communication are paramount for providing the best possible care for patients in duress.

1st Lt. Meghan McNamara, a nurse with the 386th EMEDS, has been the medical squadron's point of contact for the training events. She says that the medical squadron has capitalized on the extensive skill and experience of the firefighters as paramedics.

"Although all of our medics are at minimum Emergency Medical Technicians, most work in clinics at their home station," she said. "Being placed in an environment where they are the sole medical first responders for over 1,900 people on base, has pushed them to excel beyond their original comfort level. It is necessary for the safety of our base and the success of our mission, to expediently perform as a functioning team.

Firefighter Tech. Sgt. Steven Swihart has been working with Lt. McNamara to create the shared training experience. Since both agencies have mandatory training requirements, he agrees that the joint training makes good sense.

"This is a very important relationship between the two of us because we are the two primary emergency response agencies that will arrive on an incident responsible for patient care," he said. "Understanding how each other works on scene betters our communication and will only lead to better care for the patient."

McNamara agrees that the training reinforces operational preparedness and creates an inter-organizational synergism.

"On a strategic level, the close relationship and mutual understanding of our respective roles and responsibilities is instrumental to the enduring partnership and comprehensive mission of the fire department and EMEDS," she said. "On a more practical level, the subject matter expertise of the paramedic firefighters enhances the expeditionary skills and operational readiness of our 20 person clinical team. Additionally, establishing interpersonal relationships makes interactions between both groups more comfortable...in situations that might otherwise have been daunting experiences.

According to McNamara, the purpose of the joint training is two-fold. The first is to improve inter-agency communication and understanding of the roles and responsibilities in the Incident Command System, leading to the successful integration of medical services into a base-wide Emergency Management System. Secondly, the training provides mentorship and expertise vital to the development of Airmen as combat medics, she says.

"We capitalize on any possible opportunity to train," said McNamara. "It can be anything from learning a particular skill to running a full-on coordinated base emergency response with Security Forces, the fire department, and EMEDS personnel."

The current group of deployed firefighters is uniquely equipped to train the medics. A large portion of the diverse firehouse is made up of Air National Guardsmen, who are employed as civilian firefighters and paramedics working for busy metropolitan fire departments all over the country.

"I'm a city firefighter and paramedic in Canton, Ohio," said Swihart. "What we, as Air National Guardsmen, bring to the table in the world of firefighting and pre-hospital medical care is experience from a high volume of calls and a lot of on-scene experience. We felt that our experience could be utilized in joint training sessions to benefit both the younger Airman of EMEDS and our firefighters who are responsible for running the majority of the medical calls on this base," he said.

Together, the two squadrons have completed more than 23 training events since the first part of December. Both McNamara and Swihart say the training has been very successful.

"As observers and instructors, the fire department paramedics and I have witnessed great improvement of our medical technicians' effectiveness in working as a team and completing skills accurately," said McNamara. "Any of my med techs will also tell you how much they appreciate the mentorship and instruction of our fire department. Each firefighter has demonstrated enthusiasm and initiative in every exercise to instill pride and confidence in our medics as first responders."