Department of State Holds Joint Exercise with COB Adder Commands

By 3rd Sustainment Command Public AffairsMarch 21, 2009

Department of State Holds Joint Exercise with COB Adder Commands
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A RSO team member treats Spc. Danielle Smith, a medic with the 287th Sustainment Brigade, who portrays an injured victim of a motorcade hit by an Improvised Explosive Device. The scenario was part of a Joint Training Exercise between the Department ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Department of State Holds Joint Exercise with COB Adder Commands
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – On Feb. 28, the Department of State Regional Security Office held a Joint Training Exercise with Department of Defense personnel at Contingency Operating Base Adder. The goal of the exercise was to test liaison coordination and gain experience for RS... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Department of State Holds Joint Exercise with COB Adder Commands
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Department of State Regional Security Office provides security for U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. In the photo above, RSO team members train on their medical skills during a Joint Training Exercise with Department of Defense personnel... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Department of State Holds Joint Exercise with COB Adder Commands
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

COB ADDER, Iraq - On Saturday, Feb. 28, the Tallil, Iraq, Regional Security Office, an element of the U.S. Department of State, conducted a Joint Training Exercise with Department of Defense personnel on Contingency Operating Base Adder.

Headed by Special Agents of the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service, RSOs are responsible for providing security services to U.S. diplomatic facilities and personnel around the world. In Tallil, according to SA John Keith, his group protects not only diplomats but the individuals that they're meeting with. "This includes people from the Department of State such as the PRTs (Provincial Reconstruction Team), Department of Defense personnel, Iraqi nationals and anyone involved in the process of diplomacy."

In the Saturday afternoon scenario, one limo in a motorcade was hit with an Improvised Explosive Device. RSO team members in the other vehicles were then evaluated on their medical response to the injured in the damaged vehicle.

In a 30-minute scene on the scale of a Hollywood production, the medics cut off one side door of the car, pulled out six victims, treated their injuries and evacuated four survivors on RSO helicopters. In all, between 40 and 50 RSO members participated in the training exercise along with 20 Army and Air Force personnel.

"Our medics identified a training gap in our ability to liaison with our military partners," said Assistant RSO SA James Ulin, who organized the training. RSO teams needed more experience, he said, in coordinating with the Army and Air Force for dust-off, combat surgical hospital, fire department, and Rescue Air Mobility Squad. The RSO ground security detail also needed more experience in working with its own RSO air helicopter assets, he added. Practice in integrating all these different elements, said Ulin, would produce "a polished product that can respond to critical incidents outside the wire."

Besides the RSO team members, other players in the joint exercise were the COB Adder MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) Site Lead and Ali Base RAMS team. The 287th Sustainment Brigade Convoy Training Academy provided the IED lane and medics from the 287th SB Warrior Medical Training School played the injured victims.

"I think everyone feels that the training was very realistic," said Ulin. "We did everything the way we would do it for a normal mission. We did it beginning with our liaisons - to have them involved in the mission plan and the mission brief."

"As a result, we'll be able to better communicate with our military partners. We will know who each other is when we go outside the wire for a critical incident response. Then it will not be the first time that we've done it together. In real world we have already practiced it together on base."

STORY BY MASTER SGT CARL MAR, 287TH SUSTAINMENT BRIGADE PUBLIC AFFAIRS. FOR QUERIES, CONTACT 3D SUSTAINMENT COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS AT: ESCPAO@IRAQ.CENTCOM.MIL .

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