Soldiers with the 47th Combat Support Hospital transport simulated injured Soldier to a hospital at their training site during a field-training exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Nov. 18. This training gave the unit the opportunity to ...

Soldiers with the 47th Combat Support Hospital, look over a simulated injured patient's medical chart as they prepare to treat him during a field-training exercise, Nov. 18. This training gave the unit the opportunity to set up a 32-bed hospital, wor...

Lt. Col. Joanna Branstetter, a surgeon and commander of the 758th Forward Surgical Team, 47th Combat Support Hospital, simulates performing an exploratory laparotomy to examine the abdomen and pelvic organs of a patient during a field training exerci...

The unit also welcomed a special delegation from Vietnam during the two-week event. This delegation included senior operations officers and two physicians who were learning hospital set-up procedures.

This training gave the 47th CSH the opportunity to train on their METL tasks and showcase their skill, capabilities and to build a lasting partnership.

The Vietnamese People's Army is developing U.N. medical capabilities for Peace Keeping Operations and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief situations. Not having the experience with the functions and set-up operation of a hospital, the U.S. Army Pacific Command requested the 47th CSH share their knowledge and experience.

"The best way for the Vietnamese to really get a grasp of the magnitude of this operation was to come during our field-training exercise," said Col. Jennifer Caci, commander, 47th CSH. "So we based our scenario in South Sudan, specifically because we wanted to mirror what the Vietnamese would look at from the standpoint of disease and socioeconomics."

The CSH built an operational 32-bed hospital with most of the capabilities of Madigan Army Medical Center.

Although setting up the hospital was not easy, the Soldiers and their leadership worked to accomplish their tasks, even as they faced torrential rain, wind and flooding.

"When it comes to the impact of rain and water, this is the most significant I've seen on an operation," Caci said. "The rain came fast and accumulated really quickly. We ended up with significant amount of standing water in the TOC, in the hospital and a little bit in the sleep tents."

Because of the weather the unit had to reconfigure the hospital which was challenging in itself. The Soldiers from the laundry and bath section became a flood team, pumping water out of the hospital around the clock.

"It's great that this has shown them how in a situation of rain they can respond, but, I think really what it's done is allow these Soldiers to realize that when conditions change, they can adapt," Caci said.

This training also afforded the unit time to work on problems they faced during their previous FTXs. The CSH completed exercises last September, February and May and are now ending with this exercise. The final exercise combined all the training into one culminating field problem.

Caci said, "For the past 14 months we have been working up toward the level that the CSH has achieved by looking at a variety of our METL tasks and then slowly building the complexity of the exercises we execute."

Aside from setting up the hospital, the Soldiers conducted recovery operations, force protection, CBRN tasks, set wire around the perimeter and built fighting positions, a laundry facility, and a containerized kitchen, all in an effort to provide the best care for the patients.

According to Caci, the CSH is a Role III hospital equipped and staffed to provide care to all categories of patients, including neurosurgery and post-operative treatment.

"As a Role III hospital, we are able to provide orthopedic capabilities, (obstetrician and gynecology), x-rays, and many more capabilities," said Capt. Maria L. Kunkel, operating room nurse, B Company, 47th CSH. "Although this is a training environment, we treat every casualty and their injuries as we would during a real-world situation."

Caci added the 47th CSH leadership is proud of being able to provide a first-hand experience on the hospital operations and capabilities to the Vietnamese People's Army. They are also proud of all the hard work and effort the Soldiers put towards this training event, even with all the challenges they encountered along the way.

"We like to inject (the weather) into scenarios but we don't plan for Mother Nature to do that for us," Caci said. "Our leadership is reminding Soldiers that complexity is a good thing and you want it to occur during training, not when you have to go into a real-world mission."