LRMC to host multinational medical response exercise

By Marcy SanchezMarch 7, 2022

LRMC staff respond to Kabul attack casualties
U.S. Soldiers, Airmen and civilian staff at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center receive casualties who were medically evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, after U.S. service members and Afghan civilians were injured in a series of attacks outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul Aug. 26 and evacuated to LRMC for further care. (Photo Credit: Marcy Sanchez) VIEW ORIGINAL

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center will host Maroon Surge 22, a routine, pre-planned Mass Casualty (MASCAL) emergency response training exercise designed to test organizational response, and medical capacity and capabilities of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC) while building readiness and interoperability with strategic partners, March 10.

The exercise is slated to begin at approximately 8 a.m. with a simulated mass casualty event requiring patient evacuations, transport and treatment, and stand up of the hospital's Emergency Operations Center to provide command and control of various medical assets and partners, including German emergency responders. Participants will include Host Nation participants from the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) and select Host-Nation partners.

"Not only will this exercise allow us to meet The Joint Commission's training requirements for emergency management but it also provides a platform to build lasting relationships with host nation, and strategic partners," said U.S. Army Col. Andrew Landers, LRMC commander. "Additionally, the exercise allows us to demonstrate our commitment to maintaining a readiness posture in support of the Joint Warfighter."

LRMC's recent active, real-world response during Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome, the American military withdrawal and evacuation of eligible Afghans from Afghanistan, presented the Military Treatment Facility (MTF) with opportunities for increased partnering with Host-Nation medical facilities.

Ultimately, the exercise aims to increase interoperability and collaboration between the American medical center and partners, while providing response opportunities for participating staff and increasing overall organizational and individual readiness.

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center is the only forward-stationed medical center for the U.S. and Coalition Forces, Department of State personnel and repatriated U.S. citizens. LRMC is also the evacuation and treatment center for all injured U.S. Service Members and civilians, as well as members of 56 Coalition Forces serving across Europe, Africa and the Middle East in support of four combatant commands. LRMC is a jointly staffed, Army-commanded medical center, the only American College of Surgeons verified Level II Trauma Center outside the U.S. and the only American trauma center associated with a foreign trauma network (The German Society for Trauma Surgery or Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Unfallchirurgie - DGU).

For media interested in attending the exercise, contact the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center Public Affairs Office at +49 6371-9464-8144 or email usarmy.lrmc.pao@mail.mil