Coincidences

Part of being the primary medical resource for roughly two thousand people involves training. Training on equipment, on education, and on processes. One of the processes we train for is mass casualties. Having helicopters, fixed wing transport, and troop trucks moving about on a daily basis, it's reasonable to prepare for this. Our plan was to start with a simulation of three patients involved in a truck vs bicycle MVC, with the truck losing control and rolling over after striking the bicyclist. This would a "walk phase" exercise in the continuum of "crawl, walk, run". And it would be a suprise drill.

So when I was told at 1128 hours to stand fast, as we had a truck vs bicycle accident coming in, I wasn't very happy that the exercise would take place during the limited time available to get lunch. And I was even less happy that they had decided to use some of the larger Fijian infantry as patients.

Until the other medics started cutting of their uniforms and sticking 18 guage needles in their arms. Because one of the local nationals rode their bike straight out into the road without looking in front of a large troop truck. Which resulted in the four Fijians in it getting either thrown out of the truck, or going for a hell of a ride as the truck rolled three times when it took the ditch to avoid turning the local into roadkill.

End result: one local scared shitless, but unharmed; two Fijian infantry got a helicopter ride to Israel on backboards and in cervical collars; and two more Fiji infantry who are going to feel like someone worked them over with a bat when they get up tomorrow. And our MasCal plan works.

But if they start planning for a twenty patient mass food-poisoning incident for the next scenario, someone's training plan is going to disappear repeatedly.