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HRADEC KRALOVE, Czech Republic — Twenty four NATO medical professionals from 11 countries conducted a medical evaluation during exercise “Medical Man 2022” at the Czech Military Health Agency Facility in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, Sept.17-21. U.S. Army participants evaluated the Visegrad 4 Multinational Medical Task Force team, which included medical personnel from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard Aguilar, normally serving as a manager in the Perioperative Nursing Services Department at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, shared his insights as an evaluator.
“These NATO medical training events are important because it allows the U.S. to see what medical capabilities our allies have readily available,” Aguilar said. “With U.S. troops all over Europe and with our current threat posture, the medical care may not be American, but rather a joint NATO partner one. Understanding their dynamics in preparation, deploying and operation gives Commanders an alternate health service support concept of operation in their planning.”
Thirteen modules of the multinational medical task force were evaluated for qualified personnel, serviceable equipment and appropriate standard operating procedures. Several of the modules incorporated teams comprising three countries and drilled critical complex tasks, such as medical evacuation and surgery/sterilization.
“One of the things I enjoy from these types of evaluations is understanding how we as medical care professionals have the same or different thought process as to why things are being done,” Aguilar said. “This allows us to breakdown and better understand the patient care process and enables us to take back new ideas and processes to our unit.”
Multinational evaluations of allies and partners strengthen clinical and operational skills and collaboratively improve survivability on the battlefield. Pursuing interoperability by engaging with the militaries of other nations gives soldiers the opportunity to learn new skills that further strengthen overmatch and lethality.
