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File: 123096_sep96_decls2_0026.txt
Subject: MEDICAL OPERATIONS DURING OPERATION DESERT STORM 9 NOV 91
Unit: VAR. BUMED
Parent Organization: BUMED
Box ID: BX303801
Folder Title: VARIOUS BUMED DOCUMENTS FOLDER 6
Document Number: 2
Folder Seq #: 10
party of 110 people assembles the primary support areas, including public works,
atirninigtration, staff housing, laundry, and food service. During the last four days, the
main body assembles the medical core, the intensive care units (ICUS) and the wards.
FH-5 deployed in August with medical personnel drawn primarily from
Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, and CBU-411 (Naval Station, Norfolk) and CBU-415
(Naval Air Station, Oceana). FH-6 deployed from its prepositioned site in Japan to
Bahr-gin. PH-15 deployed from its prepositioned site in Norway to the vicinity of
Al Jubayl. SELRES units designated to support naval reserve PH-20 and FH-22,
augmented by reserves from other reserve fleet hospitals and some active-duty
personnel provided by MPUAS, staffed these facilities.
The active-duty medical personnel who staffed FH-5 arrived in theater with
little predeployment training in the construction or operation of a medical facility in
a combat zone. The fleet hospital operations course at the Fleet Hospital Operations
and Training Command (FHOTC) in Camp Pendleton provides basic training on
fleet hospital construction, but less than 20 percent of the active-duty personnel
assigned to FH-5 had attended this course. Furthermore, the course needs to be
expanded to address fleet hospital operations in a hostile environment, emphasizing
the knowledge gained during Desert Shield/Storm. The staff of FH-5 arrived in
theater fully expecting to receive casualties within days of activation. The sheer
comple)dty of setting up and operating a 500-bed facihty-a greater bed capacity
than any CONUS Navy hospital-capable of providing casualty care and patient
evacuation in a hostile environment in a ten-day period suggests that more training
should be accomplished before deployment. At a minimum, the Navy should support
annual planning conferences of the command element and key staff elements of each
fleet hospital.
Reservists fared better in terms of predeployment training. Members of the
air detachment, advance party, all CBU personnel, and the directors of medical,
surgical, and administrative services for FH-6 and FH-15 attended a
modifaed version of the FHOTC course in early December. Members of the advance
party and main body received two weeks of predeployment training at Fort Dix in
early Jnnuary. This training included individual CBR gear training, medical man-
agement of chemical casualties, burn life support, trauma care, and a review of
lessons learned from FH-5. Hospital corpsman received a review of shock triage,
and burn and wound management.
At the request of the on-scene I MEF commander and COMUSMPF,
COMUSNAVCENT shifted the site of FH-5 from its original planned position in
-17-
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Document 57 f:/Week-37/BX303801/VARIOUS BUMED DOCUMENTS FOLDER 6/medical operations during operation desert storm:1217961126393
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-37
Box ID = BX303801
Unit = VAR. BUMED
Parent Organization = BUMED
Folder Title = VARIOUS BUMED DOCUMENTS FOLDER 6
Folder Seq # = 10
Subject = MEDICAL OPERATIONS DURING OPERATION DESERT STORM
Document Seq # = 2
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 17-DEC-1996