Iowa National Guard
By SSG Mike Kelly,
Building on six years of partnership, Soldiers and Airmen of the Iowa National Guard, together with members of the Medical Company (Medcoy) of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), participated in a two-week medical training course and field training exercise in July.
The exercises were conducted at the Sustainment Training Center (STC) on Camp Dodge Joint Maneuver Training Center as part of the State Partnership Program (SPP).
The SPP links U.S. States and Territories with partner countries around the world to promote access, increase capability, improve interoperability and enhance the principles of responsible governance. This traditional security assistance program focuses on military-to-military exchanges.
These events are typically small in nature, involving four to six Soldiers, Airmen or KSF members conducting an exchange for a period of five to seven days. Also present were several medics from the United Kingdom.
Building on several in-country SPP medical events from summer and fall 2016, medical planners from Iowa and Kosovo worked together to identify goals that both broaden the skill set and leadership experience of medical personnel, and explore combined “warrior task” engagement opportunities.
“To train side-by-side with the Iowa Soldiers and Airmen has been a dream of mine,” said MAJ (Dr.) Genc Shalla, Medcoy deputy commander. “Working together as one team in support of medical missions built cooperation between us. By the end of the training, it was like we had worked with each other for years.”
Participants grew as leaders during staff section training and seminars on the Military Decision Making Process.
“Human physiology is the same no matter what nationality or branch of service you are,” said Tech SGT Davy Crockett, 132nd Medical Group nursing NCOIC. “When it comes to medical care, it’s a universal language. Blood is red regardless.”
“Joint international collective training exploits knowledge from all individuals involved, incorporating a collective element, thus creating new quality,” said Maj Jamie Clasen, 209th Medical Company Area Support.
While the overarching goals of this training touch on deployment of personnel and equipment, management of casualties under austere conditions and conducting forward medical operations, the main objective was to conduct Role I & II training while integrating Soldiers, Airmen and KSF personnel into a single unit focused on collective training.
“Training with Airmen and KSF members is a very unique opportunity for our Soldiers,” said Maj Clasen. “Following the exercise, I was able to speak with many of them, and the feedback that I received was very positive. I believe that it was great for the Soldiers, Airmen and KSF partners to work side by side, learning from each other while building lasting memories during this STC rotation. Training like this is a tremendous readiness tool that can help keep our Soldiers coming back for more as we continue to develop a larger medical training concept that partners with Iowa Airmen and members of the KSF.”
