Afghan Air Force members complete advanced flight medic course

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 by Capt. Jamie Humphries

438^th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

 

Afghan Air Force students practice proper patient care procedures during the first-ever Afghan Air Force Advanced Flight Medic Class.

KABUL, Afghanistan – Kandahar Air Wing graduated four medics from its first-ever Afghan Air Force Advanced Flight Medic course recently.

The training, officials explained, aimed at providing the same expertise intermediate emergency medical technicians and paramedic teams learn in the U.S.

By teaching advanced skills, medical professionals from the wing hope AAF members will now be prepared to respond to a range of situations they may face in the field.

During the course, students learned advanced airway stabilization techniques, cardiac life support, pharmacology skills, and trauma life support as well as rescue and extrication techniques.

The students also learned how to intubate patients—place a tube into a patient’s lungs to aid breathing—which is one of the most advanced skills an emergency pre-hospital health care provider can learn.

“The medics are learning how to push medications in emergency situations like cardiac drugs which will help someone if their heart stops, as well as medications to counteract drug overdose or to stop seizures in an emergency,” explained Tech. Sgt. Steve Guillen, 738^th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group medic.

Afghan Air Force students practice proper patient care procedures during the first-ever Afghan Air Force Advanced Flight Medic Class.

Also included in this advanced training was the introduction of a training scenario including a downed aircraft and a vehicle accident, providing the AAF the opportunity to respond to injuries and extricate injured crew members from the crash scene.

According to officials, the recent training now provides the AAF medics with the skill level comparable with coalition flight medics and the opportunity to now conduct medical evacuations with little or no advisor oversight.

“It is important to know the medications and other skills we have learned in this course, because now we can perform missions alone,” said Sgt. Majeed, newly trained flight medic. “We are now ready for any emergency that we might have to help our patients and our countrymen.”

Earlier this month, four AAF members graduated from the first-ever AAF Flight Medic course with a goal of combining ground and flight medical training.