2010 Paulatim Magazine - RAAMC Association

Vampire Flight 4 has been the major activity that has been conducted
for the year to date. It consisted of rolling out a Level 3 facility to
Marangaroo Training Area (Lithgow) into a location expertly sited to
maximise our exposure to copious amounts of mud, rain and cold
weather as well as test the resolve and morale within the unit.
Surprisingly the 16 weather haven tents maintained an acceptable level
of water resistance throughout the activity. Highlights for the activity
included walking around in mud, interesting scenarios in the mud,
standing upright in mud, doing piquets in mud and mopping up mud
that had been tracked into the facility. We also went up in Blackhawks
for a day to escape the mud.
Special mention goes out to the Sallyman who worked tirelessly to
supply the much needed caffeine, biscuits and pikelets required by the
troops to survive the ordeal – even emerging from the mud at 3am to
bring a little piece of liquid joy to all on a daily basis.
Initial Resus Team – Kapyong
Warrior
Exercise KAPYONG WARRIOR is an annual exercise to mount and insert,
via parachute, an Airborne Combat Team. The Airborne Combat Team
consists of a normal light Infantry Company from 3 RAR, with its
artillery, signals and logistic attachments. The exercise begins with a
parachute insertion into a training area, traditionally Singleton, followed
by progressive training from blank fire and culminating in a company
live fire attack, supported by artillery and Close Air Support (CAS).
The Initial Resus Team deployed to the Singleton Military Area on the
10 August 2010 using the large weather-haven tent system. The team
consisted of CAPT Dave Heslop (MO), CAPT Roneel Chandra, CPL Regan
Bryce (AMAC), LCPL Corey Hill (AMAC) and PTE John Milnes (BMAC).
The IRT arrived 12 hours prior P Hour, the capability was setup and
operational within 2 hours. The Combat Team and IRT received 7
casualties (6 x Priority 3 and 1 x Priority 1) the majority of the injuries
consisted of lower limb injuries. The Priority 1 patient (who had
sustained spinal injuries) was retrieved from the drop zone and
stabilized at the IRT. Civilian emergency services were notified and
subsequently a NSW Ambulance helicopter was launched from
Bankstown airport. The helicopter met with the Evacuation crew at
Singleton range control for patient transfer to John Hunter trauma
centre.
Once all the sortes were complete and all patients transferred to
appropriate medical facilities, the IRT was packed loaded for the return
trip home. In true IRT fashion the entire task was complete within 24
hours.
By: CAPT Roneel Chandra
From scrubs to DPCU:
the transition of entry nursing
officers to the military
We marched into 1st Health Support Battalion in Jan 2010. Having
trained as registered nurses and completed two years postgraduate,
entering into our first posting was a steep and exciting learning curve,
both as clinicians and as soldiers. It was the search of something more
challenging and rewarding that brought the three of us to choose a
nursing career in the Army. Although we all had very different
backgrounds with varying levels of past military experience, the
freedom to travel, be involved in specialised courses and nurse in the
great outdoors were a few of the attractions that made military practice
more appealing than our civilian nursing prospects.
The year began with an introduction to the 1st Health Support Battalion
(1HSB) where we were placed in a Nursing Platoon and began
functioning as Nursing Officers. Initially our day to day routine involved
clinical training, equipment familiarisation, military training, and
involvement with the clinical capabilities, in particular the clinical
governance committee.
In April we completed our SSO course in Duntroon, Canberra.
The course provided a fantastic opportunity to meet and network with
fellow officers, especially the other health professionals on the course.
After completing five weeks at the Royal Military College and returning
to 1HSB we were straight into the swing of preparations for exercise
Vampire Flight IV (VFIV). Sixteen weather havens were erected to
contain the capabilities and deployed personnel. Headquarters, Resus,
IRT, PHCT, OT, ICU, MDU and LDU, as well as pathology, x-ray and
environmental health made these watertight tents their home for a
week. The exercise involved caring for simulated casualties, who
presented with injuries consistent with those often received from an
earthquake. At close of exercise, the total number of “patients” treated
was 84 but more importantly was the first opportunity to work in and
with our clinical capabilities and the weather haven tent system.
1 8 P A U L AT I M – M A GAZINE O F T HE R OYA L A U S T R A L I A N A R M Y M E DICAL C O R P S – 2 0 1 0
All in all, the exercise was a success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
The three of us would like to take this opportunity to thank all who
were involved in the VFIV exercise and everyone at 1HSB for making