Medical team well prepped

Flying medic: Australian Army medic Sgt Michael Kurtz receives familiarisation training on the layout of a US Black Hawk. Sgt Kurtz is part of the Australian Aero Medical Evacuation team but will be embedded in an American unit, working on Black Hawks. Photo by Lt Simone Heyer

Volume 11, No. 41, April 20, 2006

WHEN the government announced that two Chinooks would deploy to Afghanistan it was decided to send an aeromedical evacuation (AME) team with the contingent – and medic Sgt Michael Kurtz, nursing officer Capt David Dudley and doctor Maj Sam Hay, drawn from various units around Australia, were proud to step up.

After a week of AME familiarisation training in Australia, the team deployed to Afghanistan with the main body of troops.

Sgt Kurtz said that the team would be embedded with the American Aeromedical Evacuation (AE) company.

The three medics do daily training with 159th Medical Company to orient themselves with the US Black Hawk variant, on which they will deploy should the time come to retrieve casualties.

They also need to be familiar with US emergency protocols and crew procedures, which differ to Australian protocols. The US Army has medics who are dual-qualified as loadmasters, operating in dual roles in the case of emergency.

Until they are finally embedded, the Australians are working in the Canadian hospital and primary health-care unit.

Capt Dudley and Maj Hay perform nursing and medical shifts, helping relieve the Canadian and American staff.

Sgt Kurtz mainly helps out at the primary health-care unit and deals with coalition members and civilians who have minor injuries and health complaints.

“The job varies, but I take any opportunity to go to the hospital and help in the resuscitation ward,” he said.

“I’ve served in East Timor as a medic, but I’ve never helped treat gunshot wounds, as I have here.

“My training well and truly prepared me for it, and we do a lot of training in that sort of injury at home, but it hasn’t been hands-on.”

Capt Dudley said his shifts in the hospital were spent in the general ward, resuscitation and ICU caring for battle casualties.
He said the Canadians were a good bunch of people to work with and were very similar to Australians in their actions and sense of humour.

Capt Dudley said that while his training as a nursing officer and, previously, a medic, prepared him for the conditions he would treat on operations, he could not be prepared for everything.

“Moving casualties from the hospital to a bomb shelter during an early morning rocket attack was interesting,” Capt Dudley said.

“But six were on high-dependency care and couldn’t be moved, so we stayed with them in the hospital.

“I wasn’t the least bit concerned for myself – only the patients’ safety.”