Members of the Public Health Command Europe Radiological Advisory Medical Team Europe recently visited with their German counterparts, the Bundeswehr Nuclear Medical Defense Task Force, to build interoperability and share knowledge.
The NMDTF works full time at the Bundeswehr Institute of Radiobiology located in Munich. The Institute of Radiobiology, in conjunction with the University of Ulm, is the only institution in Germany with the necessary expertise to comprehensively answer military medical questions in the field of medical radiological protection.
Since 2016, PHCE has partnered with the NMDTF every two years to train with their counterparts and exchange experiences.
"So far, the Radiological Assessment Medical Team Europe and the team of the Bundeswehr only train together, however, we know each other's capabilities and can leverage that if a real world event should happen." explained Maj. Margaret Myers, team leader and Chief of the Environmental Health Services.
During their most recent visit on 26 July 2018, the two organizations shared capabilities and the RAMT-E was provided a tour of the Bundeswehr's Institute of Radiology. The institute conducts military medical research and development in the field of medical protection against ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. This includes, in particular, the investigation of preventive measures, pathology mechanisms, special diagnostics, and therapy measures for radiation health effects.
The aim of the visit was to understand the true capabilities of the Bundeswehr and to solidify the joint NATO alliance in medical radiological expertise. The Bundeswehr Institute of Radiology is the only organization in Germany conducting cutting edge research and has established state-of-the-art radiological and molecular biological procedures for the assessment of radiation damage at the various levels of biological organization.
PHCE not only benefits from sharing knowledge with their Bundeswehr counterparts, but the staff is also able to gain versatility in their ability to fulfill their mission.
"We learn radiation detection techniques from each other and become familiar with each other's equipment," Myers stated. The junior officers and enlisted Soldiers learn how important it is to use common NATO operational terms and using international, metric units."
Myers said she enjoyed seeing the junior Soldiers handling the German equipment and trying to find the sources the Bundeswehr team hid in an exercise.
For more information about PHCE, visit http://rhce.amedd.army.mil/phce/index.cfm
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