FALLUJAH, Iraq -- FALLUJAH, Iraq (June 29, 2008) – Marines with Security Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group conducted medical evacuation training here, June 29.
The exercise tested the Marines’ response time and their ability to evacuate those who are injured quickly after an incident resulting in casualties
“It was good training. It let us know where the kinks were and what we need to work out,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel L. Matzke, 30, from Alamosa, Colo., hospital corpsman, Security Co., CLB-1.
The scenario required the Marines to evacuate four “casualties” from the convoy commander’s vehicle. This became a problem because three of the “casualties” were “unconscious” and there weren’t enough vehicles to transport them all to Fallujah Surgical.
The Marines learned that if they faced the same situation in a real event, they could use other means of medical evacuation.
“If we have more casualties than vehicles, we need to use alternate casualty evacuation,” Matzke said.
Time is crucial when dealing with unconscious patients because you don’t know exactly what’s wrong with them, Matzke added.
Cpl. Ruben Macias, vehicle commander, Security Co., CLB-1, explained the importance of the training that focused on caring for the injured as quickly as possible.
“Even though this was a training session, the Marines took it seriously,” added Macias, a 26-year-old from Brownsville, Texas.