U.S. Army ... VIEW ORIGINAL
CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - U.S. Army Soldiers with F Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, a medevac unit out of Clearwater, Florida, and the 345th Combat Support Hospital, a military field hospital out of Jacksonville, Florida, conducted hoist evacuation training for military working dogs and their handlers, July 24, 2015, at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. The training was held to familiarize the dogs, handlers and medical team on how to secure and safely hoist the dogs for transport during an emergency situation.
These Soldiers are currently deployed to Kosovo as part of Multinational Battle Group-East, which ensures safety and security in eastern Kosovo in support of NATO's peace support mission in the region.
The 345th CSH, which serves as MNBG-E's Task Force-Medical and runs Camp Bondsteel's medical facilities, had Soldiers from its emergency and preventative medicine sections participate in the hoist training. Emergency medicine consist of sick-call, ambulatory, dental and surgical care, while preventive medicine includes veterinary services and field sanitation.
"We see the military dogs about once a month," said 1st Lt. Kathryn Tiernan, an Army veterinarian and the officer in charge of MNBG-E's preventive medicine clinic. "It is preventive medicine's job to ensure the MWDs stay healthy by keeping their check-ups current," she said.
"The training was wonderful for our Soldiers because [we haven't] done hoist operations with MWDs," Tiernan said. "And it is important for staff to be trained."
The veterinarian clinic is capable of providing a certain level of care, however, if a dog's injuries go beyond the Camp Bondsteel clinic's capabilities, the preventive medicine staff is now familiar with the proper procedures to safely medevac the MWDs to the U.S Army's Dog Center Europe, in Kaiserslauten, Germany.
"Incoming units on the Kosovo Force rotation are required to go through medevac and hoist training," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Gandy, a medevac platoon sergeant for F Company, 5-159th Aviation Regiment. Gandy and his fellow Soldiers support all medevac requirements for KFOR personnel, as well as support to civilians in Kosovo in conjunction with Kosovo's emergency services.
"The MWD handlers on Bondsteel, in coordination with Task Force-Medical, requested for the training to take place so that the dogs could be familiar with the aircraft and get used to being put in a hoist situation," Gandy said.
"This training was also new for us, we have never performed this type of hoist operations with anyone other than Soldiers," Gandy said. "But military dogs are Soldiers too."
Staff Sgt. Lex and Sgt. Hundi, the two MWDs assigned to MNBG-E, took part in the training. Donning their goggles, hearing protection and carrying harness, Lex, Hundi and their handlers went through simulation training to test their reactions to the noise of the Black Hawk and their feet elevated off of the ground. Both MWDs remained calm in the arms of their handlers, and maintained their composure as they were hoisted more than 75 feet into the air.
At the end of the day, the mission of the medevac team is to rescue injured Soldiers. Military working dogs are Soldiers too, and this training gives the medical staff and dog handlers the knowledge and confidence necessary to provide lifesaving care in the event of an emergency.
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