YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Yokota Air Base, Japan – Airmen from the 374th Medical Group triaged and treated mock patients in response to a simulated air attack during a Samurai Readiness Inspection exercise Oct. 26, 2021.
The exercise was an opportunity for medical Airmen to apply their specialized training in wartime adjacent triage, urgent care, surgery and maintaining the health and wellbeing of personnel in the event of an enemy attack.
“(The mock patients) were triaged as an ‘immediate patient’,” said Maj. Jon Goldstein, 374th Surgical Operations Squadron orthopedic surgeon. “Which is the highest priority of life, limb or eyesight. Their injuries were identified and they were taken to an operating room, and then to the ward for recovery.”
Medical personnel use well-defined procedures to assess injuries and provide immediate care to those most in need of life-saving techniques, which is a vital skill to have in the event of a mass casualty incident.
Medical Airmen perform these extreme practice scenarios to stay ready in case of any contingency.
“Wartime exercises give perspective on how processes need to happen,” said Staff Sgt. Gabriel Yumol, 374th Surgical Operations Squadron operating room non-commissioned officer in charge. “I think it’s a good learning experience for newer airmen so they can see what emergent or trauma really is.”
The 374th MDG is Yokota Air Base’s provider of public health services, including occupational health, preventive medicine and environmental protection to more than 11,000 base personnel and is the Aero-medical Evacuation hub for mainland Japan.
“Part of our mission is to be ready for whatever comes, so this exercise gives a small scope of what to expect if a medic gets deployed,” Yumol added.
Professional Yokota Airmen train regularly to maintain warfighting readiness in any situation, as part of the team of forces and partner nation allies, to execute rapid global mobility through agile airlift operations across the Asia-Pacific region.