Medical services hold drill on wartime evacuation

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), on Tuesday attended a medical evacuation drill, dubbed " Knights of Healing ", which was implemented by JAF’s Royal Medical Services (RMS).

The exercise aimed at examining the preparedness level of the medical plan, assessing the followed procedures in evacuating injuries and executing medical and administrative evacuation under circumstances that simulate real scenarios, according to a Royal Court statement.

Arriving at the drill location, the Supreme Commander was received by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, RMS Director Maj. Gen. Muin Habashneh and several senior officers.

The drill included a hypothetical attack on a border village, which resulted in many injuries. The village is adjacent to a military unit where battalion members rushed into area and administered first aid.

His Majesty watched the evacuation process between the battalion location and the ambulance station at the platoon, where, at this this stage, the process included assessing and sorting out injuries, taking necessary measures before identifying the health condition of each case and transferring them to hospital. 

The King and attendees observed transferring injured people to the DRASH (Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter) station, which was installed to service recently with a capacity of 36 beds and contains two operation rooms, an ICU, a severe case section and an evacuation department. 

The drill also included transferring injuries to the Special Field Hospital / 6, which went into service three years ago as a present from the Supreme Commander to RMS.

The hospital contains 12 modern departments that are supplied with up-to-date equipment and has the capacity of 50 beds, in addition to having emergency, ICU, X-ray, laboratories and dentistry sections, along with water desalination and medical oxygen generating stations and four power generators. 

His Majesty also observed procedures followed in case of a chemical attack on certain locations, where RMS personnel carried out a practical application to clean injuries from this attack at a station specialised in collective chemical purification. 

Habashneh delivered a speech before the drill, saying that the exercise highlights part of the skills mastered by RMS in medical evacuation, in addition to the means and approaches used to deal with such emergencies and injuries.

He added that RMS, over years, have always dealt with similar events in the real life, the most recent of which is receiving Gazans and offering them necessary medical services. 

At the end of the drill, King Abdullah toured the Special Field Hospital / 6 and listened to a briefing by Field Medicine Director Brig. Gen. Salem Zawahreh on the potential of this hospital and its sections, facilities and medical services it presents to patients and wounded people.