PABRADĖ-The Pennsylvania National Guard will be instructing the Lithuanian medical team on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) from June 14 to 17 as part of the Exercise Amber Hope 2011 exercise at the Pabradė training area.
The Pennsylvania National Guard, from the United-States of America, will be teaching the Lithuanian Armed Forces, as well as other countries present at the exercise, these important medical skills. Because of the difficult conditions which Lithuanian and other allies soldiers work under, this knowledge will become instrumental in protecting their lives at home and abroad.
"The new concept of Tactical Combat Casualty Care has revolutionized the management of combat casualties in the pre-hospital tactical setting." - Critical Care Medicine, July 2008.
The TCCC course is the military counterpart to the Pre-hospital Trauma Life Support Course. It is designed for military medics, corpsmen, and para-rescuemen who are preparing to deploy in support of combat operations. Casualty care on the battlefield must be the best possible combination of effective medicine and small-unit tactics.
The demands on casualty care will depend on the tactical situation, the injuries sustained by the casualty, the knowledge and skills of the first responder, and the medical equipment at hand. In contrast to a hospital emergency department setting where the patient is the mission, on the battlefield, caring for casualties is only part of the mission. TCCC recognizes this fact and structures its guidelines to accomplish three primary goals: treat the casualty, prevent additional casualties; and complete the mission. The TCCC program was developed to standardize the principles of good trauma care for successful use on the battlefield.
Pennsylvania units have taken part in every conflict America has faced, from the Revolutionary War to Iraqi Freedom, as well as ongoing peacekeeping missions in Kosovo, Bosnia and elsewhere. Since September 11, 2001, the Pennsylvania National Guard has deployed more than 25,000 personnel in support of the Global War on Terror. Even when no emergency threatens, the Pennsylvania National Guard offers broad support to the civilian community.
In today's world, it is extremely important to anticipate possible crises before they deteriorate and become destructive. Exercise Amber Hope 2011 provides the perfect opportunity to train and teach skills for crisis response.
Text and pictures by Capt Jean-François Lambert (Canadian Force)
For more information about the Exercise:
http://kariuomene.kam.lt/lt/ah2011.html
www.facebook.com/GintarineViltis
Contact persons for Exercise Amber Hope 2011:
- Pabradės Training Area - Capt Mindaugas Neimontas, Head of Media Operations Section cell phone 00370 640 45 380, e-mail neimontas@gmail.com
- Klaipėda - Capt (N) Antanas Brencius, cell phone 00370 698 18196, e-mail antanas.brencius@mil.lt
