'Red Lions' hone lifesaving skills
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (Aug. 31, 2006) -- “Exercise. Exercise. Exercise.”
“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Red Lion 98 and 99 in midair collision over West Field with 48 total souls! Losing control of A/C!”
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/220DB678F45D729F852571DC007629B4?opendocument
Aug. 31, 2006; Submitted on: 09/01/2006 05:30:39 PM ; Story ID#: 200691173039
By Lance Cpl. Edward C. deBree, MCB Hawaii
Those were the words that blasted over the radio call received by the air traffic control tower at Marine Corps Air Facility here, Aug. 25.
Those words all set the tone for Marines and Sailors assigned to Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 363 who were participating in a mass casualty/mishap drill at West Field.
The drill served to prepare HMH-363 squadron members for their upcoming deployment to Iraq where they will deploy in support of Operation Iraq Freedom and to teach them how to save lives and their aircraft.
“We had three goals that we wanted to achieve during this drill,” said Navy Lt. Peter Lombardo, flight surgeon, HMH-363, Marine Aircraft Group 24. “We wanted the corpsmen and combat lifesavers to practice combat casualty care. We wanted the squadron to practice ready room mishaps, and we wanted the MAG aid station to conduct a mass casualty drill – all of which we accomplished.”
Aircraft Rescue Firefighters arrived on scene to extinguish fires on the two aircraft and to help transport crash victims to a safe area where they could be examined and treat the wounded.
“We extinguished the flames on the two aircraft and quickly went into the medical aspects of our jobs,” explained Staff Sgt. William B. McCormick, section leader, Section Two, ARFF. “We were able to recognize the injured and the dead.
“Our main priority was to find the people who needed the most help.”
Marines and Sailors identified and treated 39 Marines, all role players assigned to HMH-363 and MAG-24. The hospital corpsmen and combat lifesavers treated ailments such as broken limbs, open wounds and head trauma.
“The combat lifesavers performed admirably,” said Lombardo, a native of Guam. “This training will prepare them well for any mishap that might occur.”
The Marines and Sailors went through classroom training to learn how to treat patients – which can be challenging enough, he added.
“To get out there and actually apply what you have learned is invaluable,” Lombardo continued. “They’ve proven that they can treat any major combat injury.”
Combat lifesavers are trained to treat wounded personnel in a combat situation until a hospital corpsman is available to tend to the service member’s wounds.
“We need to expand combat lifesavers in the unit,” said Lombardo. “It’s good training for anybody to have. We need to train as many Marine combat lifesavers as we can