FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - Minutes after hitting the ground in the middle of a battlefield, a tent is popped, an operating table is set up and human blood is rushed off pallets that had been dropped from 1,200 feet.
“We drop a hospital, drop blood and do surgery,” said Maj. Manny Menendez, commander of the 759th Forward Surgical Team.
An hour after hitting the ground, these specialized medical soldiers have to be ready - 400 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division who have dispersed to secure the airfield count on them to treat injuries.
Earlier this month, soldiers from the 44th Medical Brigade’s 759th Forward Surgical Team tested their ability to pop up a hospital tent to begin treating injured soldiers as part of the Air Force’s Mobility Guardian exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. The Air Force’s premiere training exercise integrated forces from 30 countries to gauge their ability to work together through a variety of simulated combat missions, including dropping forward surgical teams onto battlefields.
Forward Surgical Teams, like the 759th from Fort Bragg, provide life-saving or damage control surgery in a tactical environment. But this team is highly specialized, as it’s one of four in the Army that is airborne.
The team arrived at Joint Base Lewis McChord on July 31, first dropping its small hospital: a tent, two Humvees, a generator, an operating table and medical equipment. The medical paratroopers followed.
They moved quickly to set up the equipment. Since they support paratroopers, they anticipate injuries such as broken bones or concussions. They are prepared to do major surgeries from their primitive setup on the battlefield.
The training helped the medical paratroopers note areas to improve - especially since they’re tapped for a deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom next year.
“Despite all the advances we’ve done, like using tourniquets sooner, there’s still a group of wounds that if not treated quickly, the soldier could die,” Menendez said. “Pelvic, belly, chest. If you bleed inside those areas, there’s not tourniquets. If you drove to the hospital, there’s things they can do, but on a battlefield, there’s not a lot of options. It’s about improving survivability.”
When causalities are rushed into the tent, the soldiers get to work. They can treat minor injuries, like twisted ankles, all the way up to an emergency thoracotomy, which is when a surgeon would open the patient’s ribs to control bleeding in the chest.
Spc. Justin Miller, a combat medic with the team, said it’s usually quiet as everyone focuses their attention on wounded comrades.
“We can effectively change a battle,” Miller said. “We’re one of the few units that can pop up and move with the fight. We have the opportunity to give our guys the best chance of making it.”
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Information from: The Fayetteville Observer, https://www.fayobserver.com
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