OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Members of the 51st Medical Group and 51st Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal responded to a simulated unexploded ordnance embedded into a patient during exercise Beverly Herd 17-1.
The scenario was based off of a real-world situation that happened in the Middle East, painting a realistic picture of war that highlighted the importance of being prepared and ready to “Fight Tonight.”
Inspiration for the scenario was drawn from U.S. Army Private Channing Moss, who was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in eastern Afghanistan in 2006. The RPG that struck Moss entered through his lower abdomen and stretched from one hip to the other.
Master Sgt. Martin Jensen, 51st Aerospace Medicine Squadron education and training flight
“We’ve recreated this as much as we can off of all the information we collected [from] that particular case,” said Tech. Sgt. Adam Hersey, 51st Medical Operations Squadron radiology flight chief.
Even though Moss was in Afghanistan when he was struck by a UXO, it’s not unthinkable that a similar incident could happen at Osan.
“That particular type of device was a grenade round that was shot off the end of a rifle, which is typical [of] what our advisories [may] use,” said Hersey. “It’s what we need to be prepared for.”
Communication is a key factor in the success of a team, and this simulation was no different.
“Our [medical] teams are fascinating as far as their skill sets are concerned,” Hersey said. “What we wanted to know is how our teams worked with other teams [such as EOD]. We can all be good individually, but how we work together is what’s going to make us stronger.”
After the scenario came to a close, members of the wing inspection team and the medical group came together to discuss key moments in the simulation that could have been improved.
“This was a big learning experience for us,” said Jensen. “This is the best we can do to prepare for a real-life case like this. They don’t teach you this type of stuff in training, and now that they’ve experienced this, they’ll be better equipped in a real-life scenario.”