Med Falcon IV: Providing "maximum care" in Kosovo, battling life and death - United States and United Kingdom collaborate on multinational medical aid operation

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo--Outside the emergency room door, four litter bearers stood ready, eyes wide, heads tilted skyward, as they waited patiently for the incoming MEDIVAC UH-60 helicopter to touch down on the hospital helipad. Beyond the door, among a backdrop of IV bags and other assorted medical equipment, Army Reserve medical professionals from Task Force Med Falcon IV and their United Kingdom UK) counterparts calmly prepare for a patient's arrival.

The litter bearers move closer to the helipad -- close enough to be pelted by dust and pebbles stirred up by the whirl of an incoming helicopter's blades. Within seconds of touching down, the helicopter door slides open. The litter team disappears behind the helicopter fuel pod, and then reappeared, carrying a stretcher and a patient with an IV bag suspended between them.

Once inside the Emergency Room, medical personnel scramble to try and save another life. Nurses, surgeons and paramedics huddled in a circle trying to reestablish the breathing and heartbeat of an Albanian male.

Despite the appearance of chaos, Army Reservist Sgt. Matthew Rizzo massages the heart, with calm and deliberate movements while an Emergency Medical Technician squeezes air into the man's lungs as the exchange is made to ER personnel. For fifteen minutes, everyone involved brought to bear all of their military and civilian skills to save this life. It was not to be.

For the members of Task Force Med Falcon IV (TFMF IV), this was not an exercise. This was the real thing for the 150 medical Reservists, their 25 Active Component counterparts, and the 25 United Kingdom (UK) partners. Dealing with life and death situations on a daily basis, and managing the aftermath, became the norm from the moment they arrived at Camp Bondsteel.

"For us (the surgeons), dealing with this type of trauma is normal," said Maj. Timothy Counihan, an Army Reserve surgeon, from the 399th Combat Support Hospital (CSH), Taunton, Mass. "It's the same type of penetrating injuries we would see in a hospital in Boston, New York, or New Jersey. It's the younger enlisted who had never seen this before who were most affected."

"You can't train for what we've seen," said Chaplain (Capt.) William Harding, a Reservist from Boston, Mass. "It's sad to say, but you have to get used to it, like the surgeons."

"I don't think I will ever get used to death," said Sgt. Cherie Davis, the Chaplain Assistant and Arm Reservist from the 399th. She said her worst day in country was when she watched an Albanian family squeeze the corpse of their son into a car the size of a Volkswagen.

"How do you get used to that?" Davis asked. "The sounds of a body cracking." Davis paused, took a deep breadth, and then continued. "But I've learned I can deal with anything."

Caring for patients

Within their first 90 days of arrival at Camp Bondsteel, the medical professionals treated multiple trauma patients, to include UK and Russian KFOR soldiers, Albanian and Serbian local nationals, and provided daily sick-call for more than 3,000 KFOR soldiers from the Multi-national Brigade-East.

Col. Dean Sienko commanded TFMF IV and was deployed to Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, in March. Reservists from the 307th Medical Group, the 399th CSH, and the 407th Medical Company (Ground Ambulance) combined with Active Component members from the 248th Medical Detachment (Veterinary Services), the 32nd Medical Logistics Battalion (Forward), the 926th Medical Detachment (Preventive Medicine), the 236th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), and were augmented by an element of the 52nd Aero-medical Evacuation Liaison Team (USAF) to form the only Level III Medical Task Force in Multi-National Brigade-East.

A first

TFMF IV became the first Multi-national Medical Task Force, on 17 April 2001, when 25 United Kingdom personnel from the disestablished Reynolds Hospital in Pristina joined them at Camp Bondsteel as a means of further increasing NATO's medical capabilities in theater.

"Two great nations combined two great teams to form a more powerful medical task force within KFOR," said Sienko, during the US/UK Integration Ceremony held at Camp Bondsteel.

From the beginning, Sienko's "one team, one mission" concept permeated the hospital and the entire task force, resulting in Army Reservists, Active Component soldiers, and UK members working as a unified medical front. Through teamwork and high spirits, the task force won several Camp Bondsteel awards, to include the Camp Bondsteel 4th of July softball tournament and several spirit awards for 5K and 10K races.

For the Reservists of the 399th, this type of integration was nothing new. What was new was the period of time spent away from home. Accustomed to the normal two-to-four week annual training period, these Reservists had to make an adjustment to a longer absence after a presidential call-up mobilized them. Such call-ups give the President of the United States power to activate Reservists for a period of up to 270 days.

Various experiences

Army Reservists participating in this call-up brought a wealth of experience and capabilities with them, further enhancing the mission's success," according to the task force's executive officer.

"The long-term relationship with the 28th CSH provided our soldiers with multiple experiences to draw upon when working with other Active Duty soldiers," said Lt. Col. Raymond Murray, TFMF IV executive officer. "Our experiences in various parts of the world opened our minds to different cultures and different medical capabilities. Combined, these experiences, when added to Col. Sienko's team vision and command concept, helped bond and unite our medical task force."

"Despite our cultural differences, we learned to work together for the good of our patients," added Maj. John Best, the task force hospital executive officer and UK commander. "For the good of each other, we learned to live with one another, accept one another, and enjoy sharing time with one another. It's our differences that make this experience unique. And it's our differences that bring us together like magnets and make this entire mission enjoyable."

The hospital's primary mission was to provide high-level healthcare (surgery, inpatient care, pharmacy, lab, and radiology services) to 10,000 NATO soldiers in the sector. With a 26-bed holding capacity hospital, expandable to 52-beds, the task force staff provided emergency, resuscitative, and surgical stabilization. The task force also provided medical emergency care to local national citizens within MNB-E to prevent the loss of life, limb, or eyesight.

(The 399th Combat Support Hospital redeployed to the U.S. in October 1st Lt. Oliveira was the Public Affairs Officer for Task Force Medical Falcon IV at the time this article was written.)

COPYRIGHT 2001 U.S. Army Reserve
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