Major Eric Richman will be the first face a soldier sees if they need emergency care on the front line.

Thankfully, it won’t be the last. 

The emergency medicine specialist is very good at his job – and he’s not alone.

With him is the medical muscle of 2nd Health Battalion’s (2HB) Role 2 Forward (R2F) hospital, deployed to the Philippines as part of Exercise Balikatan 2026.

From the R2F, a team of a dozen Australian medical professionals can provide lifesaving care for soldiers deployed to the front lines, with emergency department doctors, nurses and medics, and a surgical team offering anaesthetists, orthopaedic and general surgery.

“Just in case anything should go wrong, we’re here to help,” Major Richman said.

Bolstering the capability for the first time on Exercise Balikatan is the addition of New Zealand Army surgeons, an anaesthetist and anaesthetic techs.

'With the reserve force, I’ve been able to take my civilian skills to a military environment and do things I’d never thought I’d get to do.'

The combined team can stabilise patients and see they are safely moved to a larger facility further from the front lines.

“That integration has allowed us to learn from them and them to learn from us the different ways we [would solve] the same problem,” Major Richman said.

“We've also been able to integrate that training with our Filipino partners, and they've been closely involved.

“It's been quite enjoyable to play off against each other's strengths and to spend some time generating scenarios for each other.”

When the team members aren’t caring for soldiers, they’re training alongside their American and New Zealander counterparts to keep their skills scalpel sharp.

As a reservist who works in the emergency department at Ipswich Hospital, Major Richman said the R2F was a world away from the trauma of a civilian emergency room.  

“With the reserve force, I’ve been able to take my civilian skills to a military environment and do things I’d never thought I’d get to do, and go places I never thought I’d get to go,” he said.

“And in that way, not only can I contribute to Australia’s medical assets, but I can have experiences I couldn’t get anywhere else.”