AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – For the first time at Aviano Air Base, approximately 40 technicians from the 31st Medical Group conducted joint “trauma care under fire” training with the K-9 unit of Military working dogs from the 31st Security Forces Squadron, at Aviano Air Base, Italy, April 12, 2022.

Participating members of the 31st MDG included nurses, doctors, freelance medical technicians and more. Members practiced providing tactical combat casualty care (TCCC) on K-9s and human dummies. Although there are minor differences, the intent behind TCCC is the same as Self Aid Buddy Care (SABC).

“You’re supposed to practice TCCC as if you were under gunfire,” said Gene Bryan, medical simulation operator for 31st MDG Education and Training. “You have to put the patient out of harm’s way and treat him, learn how to transport him and get him out of there. One of the goals is for people to be more aware of the treatment procedures they do and how they do it.

The TCCC is standardized across all branches of the military and helps prepare medical personnel and MWD managers for what they might encounter in a working or deployed environment.

“I think this training helps medical staff and handlers prepare for something they might be going through,” Bryan said. “We teach them to protect themselves and ensure the safety of the people they care for. That’s what training is all about, being as prepared as you can be and then taking the skills you’ve learned with you when you’re called to deploy.

During the training, medical personnel had the opportunity to practice treatment procedures on a K-9 trauma simulator for the first time.

“The K-9 Simulator is a high-fidelity training platform designed to provide K-9 physicians and managers with the ability to practice realistic care for K-9 service members who experience traumatic injuries, whether in a deployed area or at the docking station,” Bryan said.

The simulator includes features such as an airway with adjustable breathing, gasping, intubation (insertion of a tube into the airway for oxygen/anesthesia), IV and tourniquet training, barking, whining, growling and more.

Three different scenarios test the skills of medical personnel.

The first scenario featured the K-9 simulator and a human dummy that represented an MWD manager. Medical staff “treated” the patients, who had simulated landmine injuries.

“If a K-9 gets hurt, there’s a good chance the handler will get hurt too,” Bryan said. “The preface to our training is to put these two together. We’ll have to work to take care of them both.

The second scenario simulated an individual suffering from head trauma and seizures. The team treated the patient using a 9 line method and called a medical evacuation. During this process, the team gave a representative a standardized 9-point description of what was happening.

In the third scenario, the medical staff had the opportunity to get hands-on training with a real MWD and to “treat” the dog. U.S. Air Force Maj. Aaron Mangubat, 31st MDG Education and Training Flight Commander, lectured on the procedures needed to treat an MWD if he suffered traumatic injuries.

“During day-to-day operations, it’s the handler’s job to stabilize and get the dog to the veterinary clinic,” Tech said. sergeant. Jeremy Rice, 31st SFS MWD Kennel Master. “If we are forward deployed, an IDMT would be with us and help stabilize the dog until we get to that clinic or the dog is evacuated. It’s good that medical personnel know how to do TCCC on dogs.

The steps taken to treat a human versus a dog are similar, although there are some differences.

“A dog’s vital signs, such as breathing and heart rate, are different from those of humans,” Bryan said. “When we try to put artificial airways in dogs, they have long muzzles and long necks, so we have to use giant ones. We also need to learn how to put them to sleep so that we can perform these procedures.

The 31st MDG helps maintain the medical readiness of the 31st Fighter Wing by providing care to Airmen whether in a deployed environment or at home.

“Few medical emergencies happen at Aviano,” Bryan said. “When they happen, it shouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a real one. We see patients for basic needs every day, but we never see what we’re likely to see in the field, trauma and things of that nature. This is why we have to practice this.