7th MSC soldiers join international partners in NATO EADRCC's "Bosna I Hercegovina 2017"

By Capt. Jeku ArceOctober 12, 2017

EADRCC's
1 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Staff Sgt. Patrick McNeely (right), chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) specialist with 773rd Civil Support Team, 361st Civil Affairs Brigade, conducts field sampling and testing with a Spanish military CBRN specialist during a che... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
773rd CST shows capabilities with EADRCC partners
2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Master Sgt. Desmond Burgess, soldier with 773rd Civil Support Team, 361st Civil Affairs Brigade, explains the units communications capabilities to an Irish military observer during a capabilities demonstration during Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response C... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
773rd CST shows capabilities with EADRCC partners
3 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 773rd Civil Support Team's TALON robot streams video footage of an Italian chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) team so personnel can observe from a safe distance while the CBRN team conducts field triage at a capabilities demo durin... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
EADRCC's
4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Cpl. Karen Aponte (left), practical nurse specialist with Medical Support Unit-Europe, 7th Mission Support Command, helps treat a role-playing casualty with assistance from a local paramedic during a training event at Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
EADRCC's
5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Capt. Jessica Taylor, physician assistant with Medical Support Unit-Europe, 7th Mission Support Command, works with Italian rescue team members to treat a rescued patient during a training event at Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre'... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
EADRCC's
6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Pattisue Graham (left), practical nurse specialist with Medical Support Unit-Europe, 7th Mission Support Command, assists a role-player casualty to a casualty collection point with help from local paramedics during a hazmat and search and rescue... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

TUZLA, Bosnia and Herzegovina - U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from 7th Mission Support Command participated in "Bosna I Hercegovina 2017" consequence management exercise led by NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre, Sept. 24 to 29 here.

Soldiers from 773rd Civil Support Team, 361st Civil Affairs Brigade, and Medical Support Unit-Europe represented U.S. forces from Europe with around 1200 participants from 34 NATO and partnered countries in this exercise.

773rd CST provided chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear capabilities, a newly acquired top-of-the-line communications vehicle, and a TALON tracked military robot used for CBRN operations. MSU-E provided three four-person medical teams that deployed throughout the exercise providing field triage and first aid.

"['Bosna I Hercegovina 2017'] is an excellent opportunity for our soldiers to get out and work with partnering nations and see more of the world, it opens their eyes," says Col. Daniel Bohmer, 7th MSC Task Force Commander at EADRCC, who works as a civilian nuclear pharmacist in Moorhead, Minnesota.

The intent of the exercise is to strengthen the host nation's capacity to effectively coordinate international disaster response operations. Bosnia and Herzegovina was devastated with floods and landslides in 2014. A NATO civilian team recommended training activities and civil-military international exercises to help the host nation deal with future geological and environmental challenges.

Participants worked together during a two-day real-time field training exercise here and in the vicinity. Scenarios included water search and rescue, casualties trapped in a collapsed building, chemical spills, landmine incidents, industrial fires, and flash floods.

Capt. Dino De La Hoya, 773rd CST Operations Officer in Charge, believes the civil-military relationship requires continuous involvement.

"[Joint] training helps relationship building so you understand each others' abilities," says De La Hoya, "When you're getting to that handshake/first-name level, you know you're doing good things," referring to seeing familiar faces at "Bosna I Hercegovina 2017" from participating in EADRCC's "Crna Gora 2016" in Montenegro.

"Trust and how you relate with others are factors in our readiness to position ourselves in an event of an actual disaster," adds De La Hoya.

Sgt. Pattisue Graham, practical nurse specialist with MSU-E who works at Kleber Health Clinic in Kaiserslautern, Germany as a civilian, realized through joint medical training at "Bosna I Hercegovina 2017" that medical practices are similar across the partnered countries.

"I assumed there would be more differences among the medical practices but after talking with [partnered nation's medical teams] and going over scenarios there's less differences than I first thought."

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773rd CST, 361st CA BDE, and MSU-E fall under 7th MSC located in Kaiserslautern, Germany. 7th MSC is the forward presence of the Army Reserve in the European theater. With the downsizing of units and capability in Europe, the Army Reserve has become a key element in filling the gaps that develop across U.S. Army Europe and U.S. European Command, providing stationed consequence management command and control, civil support team, civil affairs, and enabler capabilities to support overseas contingency operations.

773rd CST at EADRCC's "Bosna I Hercegovina 2017"

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