PAF, US Air Force hold ‘austere’ medical care drills

To ensure that their medical personnel have the capability to operate in battlefield conditions, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and United States Air Force (USAF) conducted hands-on “austere/expeditionary medical care with mass casualty simulation exercise” at Clark Air Base in Mabalacat, Pampanga.
This subject matter expert exchange (SMEE) took place from Aug. 15 and 16, PAF spokesperson Col. Ma. Consuelo Castillo said in a statement late Wednesday.
“The SMEE, which was held from August 15-16, 2023, (also) brought together medical experts from the PAF, USAF, Indonesian Air Force, and Royal Malaysian Air Force. This activity is part of the PAR-23 (Pacific Airlift Rally 2023) which aims to identify optimal approaches for establishing a collaborative operational framework to address medical challenges in contested environments with limited resources,” she added.
Austere medicine refers to the practice of pre-hospital medical care, or in settings characterized by limited resources and constrained environment.
Castillo also said a “mass casualty simulation exercise” was carried out to assess the participants’ ability to triage and stabilize patients in a simulated mass casualty scenario, using the skills and knowledge they learned during the academic sessions.
“The SMEE and mass casualty simulation exercise cultivated a collaborative environment where participants were able to share knowledge and expertise in austere and expeditionary medical care. This also prepared them to better respond to future medical threats in austere environments where humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions are performed,” she added.
The PAR-23 runs from Aug. 14 to 18 with a total of 779 participants coming from the PAF, Philippine Army, as well as their counterparts from United States, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste.
The participants would take part in SMEE, flying training and table top exercises.

Source: Philippines News Agency