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1st Theater Sustainment Command


News Stories

Stitching the Relationship: Forming Medical Bonds in Bahrain

By Sgt. Connie Jones | 1st Theater Sustainment Command | May 06, 2019

BAHRAIN --

When dealing with chemicals, certain elements put together form a bond. Two hydrogen and one part oxygen will give us water. When U.S. Medical Soldiers came to Bahrain to participate in a week long medical subject matter expert exchange with medical professionals on the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF), they also created a bond through knowledge and understanding.

 

“We’ve had a medical engagement with the [Bahrain Defence Force]. We had a team of six military experts here in Bahrain presenting information of tactical combat casualty care (TCCC) with Bahrain paramedic forces as well as nurses and physicians,” said Col. Gregory Frazier, 8th Medical Brigade, who was the team leader.

 

“We focused on tactical combat casualty care, or TC3, but we also added some other courses, such as calling in a MEDEVAC nine line, triage, how to run a mass casualty situation, and we also incorporated damage control surgery and whole blood administration,” Frazier said.

 

Beginning work days with icebreaker activities, classroom lectures, and physical training made for an ideal learning environment and strengthened the relationships, said Frazier.

 

“Providing an educational experience that involves both didactic and hands-on training is the key and this also promotes engagements and further promotes the relationship with the participants,” he said.

 

The facility used for the training, the Crown Prince Center for Training and Medical Research in Bahrain, is a state-of-the-art medical simulation facility that trains dozens of medical students, civilians, and military personnel annually. The facility benefited the participants and the team, said Frazier.

 

“The Bahrain Forces here have this exceptional simulation center where they can simulate from point-of-injury to inpatient care to the operating room. They even have a mannequin that will simulate childbirth. I think there is a huge opportunity not only to develop and work with the Bahraini forces but to develop our own forces.”

 

The mutually beneficial exercise went well and a similar training would be welcomed in the future, said Lt. Col. Qutaiba al-Qahtani, M.D., Bahrain Defence Force.

 

“It was a great pleasure to be with [the team] here for this wonderful course, you know, sharing knowledge together in a mutual exchange between them and our people here, especially in the TC3 field. We are looking forward to another exchange for a mutual benefit,” al-Qahtani said.