B*N*S*N1

Sgt. 1st Class Juan Almonte (right), a senior medic assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, instructs an Iraqi National Police medic on how to apply a pressure dressing during a combat medic training exercise at Joint Security Station Loyalty, July 22. Photo by Jared N. Gehmann, 82nd Airborne Division.

Iraqi Police Sharpen Combat Medic Skills
Thursday, 23 July 2009

BAGHDAD — U.S. Paratroopers showed Iraqi National Police medics Combat Lifesaving techniques during a day-long training event here on Joint Security Station Loyalty, July 22. The training exercise allowed Iraqi medics to hone their skills through several real-life scenarios.

The 3rd Brigade Combat Team Soldiers taught their ISF counterparts the basics of combat medical care, to include applying a pressure dressing to a wounded leg, placing a trauma dressing over an injured abdomen and properly using a tourniquet on a severed arm.

"We try to go slow and focus them on understanding why we do each step of care," said Sgt. 1st Class Juan Almonte, the primary instructor during the event. "This was just basic trauma training, throwing on bandages and giving intravenous therapy was the focus of today."

Almonte added that this is about the seventh time he has done training events like this with the Iraqi medics. Usually the events are held in small groups of one or two personnel to ensure each Iraqi medic receives step-by-step instruction on an individual level.

Ammar Nijeb, a NP medic who participated in the training, said that he learned a lot of new techniques during the event. Nijeb feels the training he received will better equip him for real combat operations....(Read more here)