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V CORPS BATTALION AID STATION TREATS THOUSANDS IN BAGHDAD

V Corps Release

Release Date: 8/19/2003

By Spc. Ryan Smith 372nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- From minor injuries and illnesses to gunshot and shrapnel wounds, the aid station for V Corps's Task Force 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment is the medical "first line of defense" for thousands of soldiers and civilians - and even some Iraqi citizens - here.

The aid station serves as a medical clinic for 3,000-4,000 people - from soldiers in Task Force 1-35, to civilians working for the Coalition Provisional Authority and local citizens, according to Lt. Col. Stephen Marks, the 1/35th's battalion surgeon.

In a deployed setting, medical support units are often located at too great of a distance for soldiers to travel easily from where they live and work, so they go to the Task Force 1-35 aid station.

The aid station handles minor cases, referring soldiers who need things such as lab work or X-rays to a higher-level clinic, Marks said.

Casualties also receive treatment at the aid station before being evacuated to a higher-level aid station or hospital for care. "We've had soldiers who would have died without our intervention," he said.

But the station's staff members say most of the 10-15 patients they see each day are there for sick call. That number has been cut in half over the previous two months, they add. "Mostly people come in for sick call," said Pfc. Robert Caissie, a combat medic and health care specialist from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1/35th. "I haven't seen a lot of major injuries."

Though the aid station does not receive a large number of trauma cases, they are prepared for casualties.

One such case began with a radio call August 9 reporting three casualties - soldiers wounded by an improvised explosive device on a road in Baghdad. The clinic's soldiers sprang into action.

Two of the wounded soldiers had significant injuries that resulted in fractured bones and blood loss, Marks said. The station's medics were able to stabilize the casualties, and within minutes they had the pair on a helicopter for evacuation to a combat support hospital.

"We took care of them very rapidly," Marks said. "One of the injured soldiers had lost a lot of blood, but we stabilized him, gave him an IV, and had him (evacuated) within 20 minutes."

In a country where terrorists continue to attack coalition forces, the need for qualified medical care is high. Without the support of medics like those at the Task Force 1-35 aid station, more injuries could be fatal.