MPs train Iraqi police in first aid, safety

By Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod
1st BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. PAO

	Photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod/1st BCT, 82nd Abn. Div. PAO Iraqi policemen from Haditha treat the notional wounds of Sgt. Ronald Bishop, a military policeman with 585th Military Police Company, Ohio National Guard, May 12, during a practical exercise at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq.

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq — Ohio-based military police are training Iraqi policemen here to save the lives of their peers in medical emergencies.

The 585th Military Police Company, deployed here since October 2009, finished its third medical training course for Anbar-area policemen May 13.

The course covered basic anatomy and medical terms, assessing an emergency situation, breathing, bleeding, shock, fractures, burns, head trauma, evacuation and triage, according to Capt. Matthew Toomey, officer in charge of the course.

While the first two rotations of the course were taught on-site for working policemen, this class was taught and boarded at a facility on Al Asad Air Base.

Though many of the Iraqis have had medical training in the past, Sgt. Ronald Bishop, noncommissioned officer in charge of training, estimated that about 90 percent of the material was new to them.

“It’s the depth of the subject that’s new,” said Bishop, a native of Toledo, Ohio. “Everyone knows about fractures, but they may not know to splint them in place. Or they may not know about specialized splints, such as for the femur and pelvis, to lessen the pain until the patient reaches a hospital.”

Participants are given a trauma-centric first-aid kit, a curriculum book and all of the course’s PowerPoint slides on CD-ROM, he said.

“Everything we learn here we’ll pass on to our fellow policemen,” said Capt. Sulayman, evidence investigation officer for the Haditha police district. “Some of this was review from courses we’ve had in the past, but medical training always requires refreshing,” said Sulayman. “With every training, we become more expert at the skills that save lives.”

Sulayman said some of the technicians he learned this time include how to lift a patient with a head injury, how to properly space a tourniquet in relation to the joint, and to separate burned fingers before applying dressing.

Toomey said the Iraqi policemen were very receptive to the training: “They’re sick of seeing their friends die.”