During Ex TALISMAN SABRE 19 (ExTS19), the 1st Combat Service Support Battalion (1 CSSB) led a multi-unit demonstration of the Land Based Trauma System (LBTS). This involved the physical rehearsal and description of Battlefield Clearance and Casualty Evacuations from the point of injury to the furthest point of treatment and rehabilitation. This involved ADF and NZDF partnered battlefield clearance and CASEVAC capabilities supported by US UH60 AME platforms.
The demonstration was conducted as a PME activity for 1st Brigade preceding ExTS19 in order to educate junior commanders and Bn / Bde-level planning staff on the LBTS and its impact on formation-level manoeuvre. ADF media teams captured footage from the event and the walk-through talk-through video can be viewed on ADELE_P (on the DPN only).
It incorporates explanations of doctrine and planning considerations from:
- Battlefield Clearance organisations and their supported dependencies
- formation planning SME
- first responders
- health providers and health system specialists.
The video has been prepared for applicability across any Combat or Enabling Brigade, as well as for potential utility in FORCOMD Training Centres.
The following article by CPL Carla Armenti which covers the the activity was originally published in the Army Newspaper on 05 Sep 19.
ABOUT 150 soldiers recently witnessed the Land Based Trauma System in action, from point of injury to surgical care, condensed to a small area.
1CSSB, along with 1CHB and 2GHB conducted the activity, covering all aspects of the medical evacuation chain.
CO 1CSSB LTCOL Kane Wright, who led the activity, drove home the importance of rehearsing the logistics chain for the modern conflict environment.
'In a major conflict, particularly against a peer or near-peer adversary, Army is going to be in a position where quite realistically we could expect to see significant casualties taken,' LTCOL Wright said.
'This means that we need to thoroughly and realistically rehearse our soldiers and our medics in the conduct of their duties and in their ability to save and treat our casualties on site.' Before the demonstration, 1CSSB’s operations officer MAJ Chris Dent set the scene by providing details of the mass casualty scenario being rehearsed.
'1 Armd Regt’s company-sized element has been contacted by the enemy with a rocket-propelled grenade resulting in combat vehicles being destroyed,' MAJ Dent said.
The contact caused five pri1, two pri2 and six pri3 casualties with burns, amputations and spinal damage, blast and gunshot wounds – some appearing worse than others.
The treatment of casualties occurred as part of a larger battlefield clearance team activity, involving clearance of captured personnel by military police and their working dogs, the evacuation of battle-damaged vehicles as well as the removal of simulated deceased casualties.
Meanwhile, specialist medical support drawn from 1CHB and 2GHB were on-hand to triage and treat injuries before transferring patients to higher care.
With time and asset availability critical, 1 Bde’s senior health officer, LTCOL Ian Spiers, said it was important to be aware of the bigger picture when considering resource allocation and triaging of patients.
'Clearly this is a mass-casualty situation. Fundamentally we have got to prioritise the casualties to do the most good for the most casualties, LTCOL Spiers said.
PTE Michael Driscoll, of 8CHC, said for the medics on the ground, 'knowing limits' started with time management.
'We work to stabilise the patient by addressing any large bleeds or injuries so that we can move them on to higher care provided at the hospital facility as quickly as possible,' he said.
