CAP DRAA, Morocco -- The annual training exercise African Lion 2008 provides U.S. service members with an opportunity to conduct valuable field training in a combined arms, bi-lateral environment with our Moroccan allies.
There are many planning, coordinating and logistical efforts that go into running such an exercise, and one such element, the ability to provide significant medical care in case of emergency, is a vital piece to the puzzle.
Due to African Lion’s remote training location, the Navy’s Forward Resuscitative Surgical System or FRSS serves as a vital shock trauma surgical capacity that allows the Marines the ability to operate in austere locations while maintaining the peace of mind that comes with a level-two medical capability.
“Everybody knows what MASH is,” said Lt. Cmdr. Pete Redmon, FRSS officer in charge for exercise African Lion 2008 and a Seminary, Miss. resident. “If someone comes in with a gunshot wound, a head injury, blast trauma or even a hang-nail, we have the ability to work from head to toe to stabilize them and keep them alive.”
Redmon said the FRSS provides a fully stocked level-two medical capability, meaning it is staffed and equipped to handle the same types of medical situations that a basic hospital can cover.
“We are that next step after buddy aid and the corpsman,” Redmon said. “We have the capability to do 18 major surgical cases, sustain our operations for 48 hours without re-supply and hold a patient for more than 24-hours until they can be transported to a higher level of care.”
According to Redmon, the mobile nature of the FRSS allows commanders the ability to focus on continuous operations, in remote locations, without having to worry about whether their Marines will have the care they need in the event of a casualty.
“(The FRSS) is designed to be highly mobile,” Redmon said about the system, which is designed to be unpacked and set up in one hour. “We travel with the forward edge of the battle area. Where they go, we go, to provide the commander with that assurance that his or her Marines will have the care they need.”
The staff of the FRSS sounds like the role-call at any shock-trauma hospital in America: 2 surgeons, one of which is an orthopedic surgeon, an anesthesiologist, an en route care nurse, an operating room nurse, two operating room technicians, a hospital corpsman and two Marine ambulance drivers.
Redmon said that all of the equipment necessary to run the operation is able to fit into two military ambulances, a third Humvee and two trailers.
“When someone is severely wounded the first hour is the most important in order to save life and limb,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Richard G. Heine, FRSS lead petty officer and West Chester, N.Y. resident. “With our small footprint, we have the ability to stay close to the action, which gives us more time. Instead of having to evacuate a casualty to a more distant facility, we are right there.”
Although there were no serious injuries at African Lion 08, an annual combined arms exercise coordinated by U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe, Heine said their time here provided valuable training opportunities in addition to its service as an emergency contingency.
“Being out in the field, doing procedures, setting up and breaking down—it’s all valuable, hands-on experience,” Heine said. “(Doing these things) in an austere environment like we have here will help us in our real world mission. This is about as close as you can get to real-world.”
The FRSS team is composed of Marines and sailors of Surgical Companies A and B of 4th Medical Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group which is headquartered in San Diego, with detachments in Pittsburg, Washington D.C., Orlando, Fla., and Knoxville, Tenn.