Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa 404th and 407th Civil Affairs Battalions have joined forces with the 1st Battalion, 77th Armored Regiment and the Djiboutian Gendarmerie, to hold a two-day training event and share medical treatment best practices in Cheik Moussa, Djibouti, Apr. 5, 2015.
The event consisted of classroom and hands-on exercises, discussing the best practices for both forces in the basic care of a patient, covering medical techniques to include splints, arterial bleeding, amputations and abdominal injuries.
“The 1-77 AR and Civil Affairs are joining forces and taking the 1-77 AR medics and integrating with the Gendarmerie to share best practices in modern first aid treatment,” said Staff Sgt. Jeffery Puckett, 407th CA BN medical technician. “For both the 1-77th AR and the CA Battalions, it builds a relationship with the Gendarmerie and with the local population, showing we have an understanding of the ways to provide medical treatment in this region.”
In addition to building partnerships with CJTF-HOA’s East African Partners, this event also builds relationships between Djibouti’s first responders and the CJTF-HOA units they may be working with in the field to assist medical emergencies.
According to Sgt. Richard Davies, a 1-77 AR health care specialist, the Gendarmerie’s main role is that of a police force, so the event was based on sharing best practices at the scene of an accident. Knowledge gained during events like this one can contribute to saving lives in the future as it is a scenario a police force would have to respond to.
“First responders are probably the most important thing when working out in the field. The Gendarmerie are the first ones on the scene and the first ones who will be actually assessing the situation and stopping the bleeding, to save someone’s life,” said Davies. “The health care specialists in the 1-77 AR are trained as combat medics, so we know primarily battlefield medicine. Anything that we can learn outside of that about the Gendarmerie just helps make us into a better Soldier and better person.”
During the second portion of the event, Capt. Abdi Daher, Commander of Squadron 2 Gendarmerie Mobile attended the hands-on mass casualty vehicle accident scenarios and gave credit to the successful services of medical care that the Gendarmerie can provide to the CA battalions and 1-77 AR.
According to Daher the benefits the Gendarmerie gain from sharing best practices with the U.S. Forces are invaluable. The U.S. is a great partner to work with and help each other to become better servants to the local population.
“Our forces have an even brighter future because of this interaction,” said Abdi. “If there is an accident, we can perform to an even better capacity than we had before. I don’t want this exchange of information to stop here. I want to continue working with the U.S. to create more events like this one because this is something that has the potential to save all the lives of our local population,”
These best practice-sharing events have proven to be a valuable asset to both the Gendarmerie and U.S. Forces and they will continue to hold events like this in the future.
“In my time here, I believe that the progression of the relationship between Gendarmerie and the U.S. forces has grown substantially, and this event is a testament to how valuable this partnership is,” Puckett said. “We look forward to building these educational opportunities for both forces, to build an even better partnership for the future.”
