Ohio National Guard News

Performance of 178th Medical Group Airmen
'an overwhelming success' at Patriot Exercise

Story and photos by Senior Airman Amy N. Adducchio, 178th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

178th Medical Group Airmen

ABOVE: Members of the 178th Medical Group, Springfield, Ohio, participated in the domestic operations portion of the 2011 Patriot Exercise July 13-14 at Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center, Wis. During the exercise, the 178th MDG provided support for an Expeditionary Medical Support Basic, which is designed to facilitate surgical and primary medical care in a deployed environment.

RIGHT: Maj. Alan Kilbourne, a member of the 178th Medical Group, Springfield, Ohio, readies tent framework during Expeditionary Medical Support Basic refresher training July 12 as part of Patriot Exercise 2011 at Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center, Wis.

Maj. Alan Kilbourne, a member of the 178th Medical Group, Springfield, Ohio


VOLK FIELD, Wis. — Thirty Airmen, eight different Air Force specialty codes, 104 patients and work hours in the double-digits. The two-day domestic operations portion of the 2011 Patriot Exercise concluded July 14 at Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center, Wis.

Patriot is a two-week, large-scale exercise in which participating units plan their scenarios and events to meet their training requirements. The exercise provided the 178th Medical Group, based in Springfield, Ohio, an opportunity for more extensive training than possible at home station.

This year's exercise scenario focused on a mock disaster at a public air show, with an average daily attendance of about 80,000 people. The exercise facilitators conducted a variety of disaster and incident scenarios for the participating medical personnel.

The 178 Medical Group (MDG) staffed an Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS) Basic, which is designed to facilitate surgical and primary medical care. Unit personnel managed triage; decontaminated victims; provided emergency and surgical care; and command and control, which include administrative duties, patient and staff accountability, communication with higher levels of command and logistics.

This deployed environment allowed participants to gain experience in handling mass casualties, streamlining patient flow and dealing with different scenarios, said Master Sgt. Donnie Diller, the 178th Medical Group's superintendent of aerospace medicine.

"Usually in a mass casualty incident, you're dealing with some type of explosion or some type of (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives scenario). When we train back at home, we might talk about it, but it's more medical emergencies," Diller said.

The exercise is designed to have some flexibility.

"The benefit we have here is that at any given time, we can just say, 'Alright, stop. We're going to focus on this guy right here,'" said Col. (Dr.) Matthew Moorman, acting commander of the 178 MDG during the Patriot Exercise.

Moorman capitalized on the exercise's flexibility to conduct various bedside teaching, such as how to use a portable ultrasound machine on internal organs to expedite diagnosis and treatment of a patient.

The operation relied on a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for aeromedical evacuation of patients, as well as ambulances and other vehicles to transport patients to and from the EMEDS Basic.

The 178 MDG also incorporated civilian specialists into its operations, with no prior notice of their participation. Wisconsin-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), a volunteer-based force that responds to emergencies within the state, is one of the National Disaster Medical System's more than 60 specialized teams throughout the country.

"The NDMS is a pretty robust system available to serve wherever and however needed when the local medical resources are overwhelmed," said Dr. Jason Liu, acting commander of the WI-1 DMAT. Liu is an emergency physician at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

This was the first year that WI-1 DMAT participated in Patriot.

"It's been very educational for us to work with the military, and I think it also simulates the real world," Liu said of the exercise. "I think we've been learning a lot from each other. ... We've been really exercising that civilian-military interface," Liu said.

Moorman was pleased with his team's performance throughout the exercise, he said.

"This was an overwhelming success," Moorman said. "If we (deploy) somewhere tomorrow, we take this experience with us."