16 May 2025
An Australian Army medical team performed critical surgery under general anaesthesia overseas thanks to a new capability provided by the mobile Role 2 Basic (R2B) facility.
Surgeons and nurses from 3rd Health Battalion set up an entire field operating theatre under austere conditions just hours before performing the urgent surgery.
The R2B facility was on its first overseas deployment in support of Exercise Balikatan in the Philippines.
General trauma and vascular surgeon Major Joe Dawson said the successful surgery was a great achievement for the all-Australian team and proved the concept of the R2B.
“It was a big milestone for us. It genuinely showcased the capability that we have in this facility of being able to perform force preservation surgery forward in the battlefield,” Major Dawson said.
“It was performed under pretty austere conditions in terms of the environment – it was humid, hot, rainy, muddy, but we still managed to set the facility up in a very quick time and perform good, safe surgery in sterile conditions. We are very happy with the results.”
The patient was evacuated for follow-up care.
In contrast to the larger Role 2 Enhanced facility that can take days to establish, Major Dawson said the R2B enabled improved survivability from battlefield injuries and helped keep soldiers in the fight by pushing clinical services closer to the frontline.
“This is a really important capability for the Army and the ADF,” Major Dawson said.
“One of the main advantages of this facility is its agility; the ability to put it up in just over two hours and strike it down in the same time period and then move on so that we can follow the battle group that we’re supporting.
“That agility means we can perform surgery as quickly as possible when it’s needed at the forefront.”
'It genuinely showcased the capability that we have in this facility of being able to perform force preservation surgery forward in the battlefield.'
The 29-strong medical team arrived at Antonio Bautisa Air Base late the night before the surgery after being out field with the R2B supporting Battle Group Tiger in the southern part of the island.
Working to a strict deadline, the team battled challenging environmental conditions to collapse and then re-establish the facility at the air base.
Perioperative nurse Lieutenant Amber Duncan said she was excited to be part of such a milestone achievement after working on the initial concept.
“For me it was a bit nostalgic because I was part of the conception of the Role 2 Basic,” Lieutenant Duncan said.
“To see it move through paper to the first iterations to now working overseas in the field and doing a surgery was an achievement for the whole team, but especially for myself.
“It is really reassuring when you have a live patient to see that the process and all the hard work that has been put in to get it to this point actually works.”
The R2B was developed by the 2nd Surgical Company over the past three years to provide a more agile deployable field hospital.
While deployed to the Philippines, the R2B also took part in mass casualty evacuation rehearsals with Australian, US and Philippine forces to simulate real-life battlefield trauma events, enhancing the ability of multinational forces to respond together.
Officer Commanding R2B Major Max Peek said the facility was an evolution in deployable medical capability, designed to keep up with advances on the battlefield.
“Modern warfare, from what we’ve seen, means that the lines are shifting so rapidly that you have to find new ways of being relevant to the dependency and being able to protect yourself,” Major Peek said.
“This facility in its current configuration can be set up in underground parking garages, old factories or tunnel complexes, because it is modular, and we can set it up in a number of different ways.
“We’ve learnt that to be relevant you have to be adaptive and that’s what we’ve achieved here.”
