Guard, active duty medical providers get back to basics with Ugandan counterparts

By Army Staff Sgt. Malcolm McClendon

Task Force Raptor

SINGO, Uganda  – An exchange of best practices in advanced combat medicine proved to be a welcomed, back-to-the-basics refresher for two experienced U.S. military medical providers.

Army Capt. Alexander Alba, a physician's assistant with Task Force Raptor, 3rd Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment, Texas Army National Guard, and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Guillermo Navarro, an emergency physician with Expeditionary Medical Facility, Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, were invited by the Ugandan People's Defense Forces to participate in an Advanced Combat Medicine Seminar here, May 14–18.

"It was good to meet other medical providers and talk about medicine," said Alba. "The fact that they were service members from Uganda made the discussion even more interesting."

The medical providers from both countries shared their experiences and best practices for the advancements and breakthroughs in combat medicine.

"U.S. combat medicine has come a long way in the past 10 years. We've learned a lot from Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom," Alba said. "Ugandan combat medical professionals have also learned and evolved from the conflicts they've been involved in."

As Alba, Navarro and the Ugandan medical providers discussed complex medical practices such as applying chest tubes and surgical cricothyrotomy, or an incision to create a life-saving airway, they decided to take things back a notch.

"Medical technology has advanced so much and allowed us to save more lives than ever before," Alba said. "While discussing this, we brought up scenarios where maybe access to our modern day equipment wouldn't be available, so we decided to incorporate a session to discuss basic combat medicine."

The medical professionals traded their complex, high-tech training aids for simpler items.

"We practiced applying improvised tourniquets using sticks," Alba said. "We even discussed the basics of casualty evacuations using buddy carries."

After the week-long seminar discussing advanced medicine practices, Alba appreciated reviewing the basics.

"As advanced medical professionals we are always learning and keeping up with the ever-evolving medical practices," Alba said. "So to be able to share and revisit basic primary medical care with our Ugandan counterparts was a welcomed refresher and a reminder that these are just as important in saving someone's life."

Texas Guard members connect with Uganda airmen, children

By Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Malcolm McClendon

Task Force Raptor

SINGO, Uganda (4/23/12) – The road four Texas Army National Guard Soldiers took to the Singo Training Center each day of their deployment here opened up an opportunity for them that they won’t soon forget.

“Every morning, I remember passing a school at the entrance of the Singo Center,” said Army 1st Lt. Victor Lauersdorf, a security officer with Task Force Raptor, 3rd Squadron, 124th Cavalry Regiment, and a member of the Texas Army National Guard. “It was unique, because the same field the children used for their recess, the Ugandan People's Defense Forces used for their military training.”

Lauersdorf, along with Army Staff Sgt. Jason Smith, Sgt. Enrique Icedo and Spc. James Andrew, exchanged best practices with Uganda Air Force airmen during an RQ-11 Raven unmanned aircraft system operational skills course held here March 19 through April 7.

“The Raven is a small, unmanned reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft,” Smith said, a squad leader with Task Force Raptor. “It is flown in support of ground troops, giving commanders an eye in the sky on what may lie ahead.”

The Raven is a new addition to the UPDF, and Smith said the Ugandan airmen new to the unit took the training very seriously.

“It’s a lot of information for a technology that most of these guys have never seen, but these guys were up to the challenge,” said Smith. “We’d give them tasks and homework and the next day they had everything memorized and completed. These men are well prepared for what challenges may lay ahead.”

Like their U.S. counterparts, the Ugandan airmen constantly train for possible deployment and to defend their country. They also share the likelihood of being away from family and friends back home.

“The children of the airmen we trained with attended the school we passed every day,” Lauersdorf said. “As a father of two children, I empathized with the Ugandan servicemen who could at any time leave their families behind.”

Remembering how they felt when they themselves left home for deployments, the Guard members decided to take the opportunity and pay the Ugandan children a visit.

“We all pitched in a few dollars of our own money and bought some school supplies and soccer balls for the children to use,” Smith said. “When we showed up with the supplies, the smiles on the children were priceless. We spent a couple of hours with them playing, shaking hands and taking pictures with them. It was a special experience.”

The Ugandan servicemen were also touched by the act of kindness, Lauersdorf said.

“When we asked the leadership if it was OK to visit the school, they said yes and let us know that they were very appreciative of the gesture,” Lauersdorf said.

“They said they couldn’t believe that not only did we come to train with them, but now we are helping out their children as well,” he said.

Kansas National Guard Soldiers pose with Ugandan soldiers

Ugandan People's Defense Force soldiers pose with U.S Soldiers assigned to the 1st Battalion 161st Field Artillery, Kansas National Guard, at Camp Kasenyi, Uganda, after graduating the 16-week Kasenyi Special Forces Group Advanced Infantry Training Course, June 22, 2011. The U.S. Soldiers partnered with UPDF instructors to teach the course. From left to right: Army Spc. Daniel Dennett, UPDF Lance Cpl. David Esoru, U.S. Army Spc. Chris Shields, UPDF Pvt. Moses Irumba, U.S. Army Spc. Leymon Harris, UPDF Lance Cpl. Bosco Guma, U.S. Army Spc. Michael Stinger and UPDF Cpl. Stephen Baguma. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Ray Bowden)

Atlas Drop

A Utah Guardmember from the 197th Special Troops Company (A) jumps from a C-130 aircraft as part of Operation Atlas Drop. Atlas Drop is an annual joint aerial-delivery exercise that brings together U.S. Army personnel with counterparts from the Uganda People's Defense Force.