NMFP augments Casualty Receiving Treatment Ship, enhances capabilities

ByGradyFontana

Naval Medical Forces Pacific

Members of various commands and amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) medical department participated in a medical exercise implementing a Casualty Receiving Treatment Ship (CRTS) mission aboardBoxeratNavalBaseSanDiego,California,March6-10

“We’reheretoexercisetheCRTSmission, which is Role 2 afloat for U.S. Navy,” said Cmdr JustinCampbell forcemedicalplanner Naval Surface Forces Pacific (SURFPAC).“TheMarineCorpshastheirmedical battalions, and Navy Medicine has done a lot of great work supporting the medical battalionsinIraqandAfghanistan.Butaswe start to pivot and look at distributed maritimeoperationsintheIndo-Pacific,it’smore important that we start to exercise the full capabilityoftheCRTSmission.”

Whencalledupon,suchasamajorconflict scenarioorduringamasscasualtysituation, BoxercanbecomeaCRTS Theexercisewas designed to test and integrate the various entities that comprise the CRTS: a Fleet Surgical Team, an M+1 augmentation, and themedicalteamorganictotheship.

Boxer is an amphibious assault ship and serves as the cornerstone of an amphibious ready group (ARG). A Fleet Surgical Team(FST)isembarkedtotheBoxerwhen deployed with the ARG, to augment the ship’smedicaldepartment.

Fleet Surgical Team-5 (FST-5), which is organictoSURFPAC,ismadeupofapproximately an 18-person team capable of operating at least one of the operating rooms on a ship like Boxer. However, Boxer has a capacity for four operating rooms requiring manning augmentation to become fully operationallycapable

“When the FST embarks on Boxer with the ship’s medical department, the only surgeonsandnursesarewiththeFST,”said Capt. Corey Gustafson, officer in charge, FST-5. “You can quickly become overwhelmed in a mass casualty scenario, or if we’reatconflictandexpecttoreceivecasualties. The CRTS gets activated to augment thiscapability.

TodosoSURFPAChasapartnershipwith NavalMedicalForcesPacific(NMFP),who participatedwithdevelopingandscheduling theexercise NMFPsourcedandembarked theM+1outofNavyMedicineReadinessand Training Command (NMRTC) San Diego, whichwasdesignedasanaugmentingforce totheCRTS

The M+1 is an 84-person team that helps bringtheshiptoitsfullcapabilitytoreceive, treatandregulatecasualtiesasaCRTS,and isaNavyMedicineplatformthatisreferred toasCRTS-9fromNMRTCSanDiego.

“Over the past few days, we’ve been testing how to integrate (augmentees) in with the Boxer team and the FST,” said Lt Cmdr Paul Flood, senior medical officer USS Boxer. “I think we’ve done significant improvementsandhavealotofgoodlessons learnedonhowtointegrateandwhatthings areneededtoimprovetheplatform.”

Withinthe84personnel,CRTS-9ismade up of additional general surgeons, orthopedicsurgeonsandoralmaxillofacialsurgeons; along with anesthesia and perioperative services to provide a more robust surgical capability; and management of medical surgicalpatients,intensivecarepatientsand generalwardpatients

“CRTS-9 is a composition of doctors, nurses and corpsman that can be deployed and integrated with a ship such as an amphibious assault ship to help complement the medical capabilities to provide additional surgical services Intensive Care Unit services, ward services and ancillary services,” said Cmdr Benjamin Drew, general anesthesiologist, NMRTC San

Diego, and officer-in-charge of CRTS-9 “So,itaugmentsandalsoamplifiesthemedical capability to provide damage control surgery, and resuscitative services, both to the ship as well as to the supported units fromthatship.”

During the exercise, the CRTS personnel have been providing robust surgical responsetoavarietyofsimulatedcasualties

When bringing together such a diverse fieldofspecialtiesfromamixofdepartments withinNMRTCSanDiego,someofthegoals are mutually understanding their capabilities,improvingorganization,andoptimizing surgicalandmedicalresponse

Inaddition,thepersonnelassignedtothe CRTS-9workdailyatNavalMedicalCenter San Diego, or subordinate branch medical clinics The shipboard environment presentschallengesthatsomemaynotbeaccustomedto

“Living in a ship is very different than that of a hospital or that even in an austere environment, on land, said Drew “In this environment, we may have less resupply and less of a capability for medical evacuation,aswell We’remuchmoreconstrained by the existing infrastructure of the ship, so ourteammustidentifythosechallengesand comeupwithsolutionstoeffectivelyoperate andexecuteourmissionaboardtheship.”

The training experience has also been a greatbenefittotheship’screw aswell

“My biggest takeaway in the training element is understanding the roles of those on the other side,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman Rochelle Cannon, Medical Leading Chief Petty Officer, USS Boxer. “We are shipboard medicine, so we never get to see that higher echelon of care. We usually give patients the best level of care that we can then we medevac them off the ship But having a surgeon here or having the full staff here going through everything asifwe’redeployedhasbeenverybeneficial totheteam.”

Military medical platforms are classified bytheMilitaryHealthSystemrolesofcareto describebattlefieldmedicalandhealthcapabilities The military organizes health-service support capability across the theater of operations, communications zone, and home station to provide medical care from Roles1-4.

Role-4 capability represents the most definitive medical care available, such as those provided by U.S. and overseas-based military medical treatment facilities while Role-3assetsusuallyactinageneralsupport roletoanentiretheaterviceasingleunit.

Role-1 units are usually a direct support capability supporting their owning unit, whileRole-2unitscanfunctioninageneral supportordirectsupportrole

Assigned to Expeditionary Strike Group 3,BoxerisaWasp-classamphibiousassault ship commissioned Feb. 11, 1995, and is the sixthU.S.shiptobearthename Boxer’screw is made up of approximately 1,200 officers and enlisted personnel and can accommodate up to 1,800 Marines The amphibious capability of the Navy and Marine Corps teamhasbeendemonstratedinabroadrange of operations including foreign humanitarian assistance operations, noncombatant emergency evacuations, natural disaster response the recovery of downed aircraft and personnel, counter-piracy and strike operations,anddiversesupporttoourpartnernations.

Naval Medical Forces Pacific provides oversight for 10 NMRTCs on the West Coast and Pacific Rim that train, man, and equip medical forces, primarily in military treatment facilities Globally, NMFP overseeseightresearchlaboratoriesthatdeliver research expertise in support of warfighter healthandreadiness.

USS Charleston participates in exercise La Pérouse 2023

Command Destroyer Squadron 7

BAYOFBENGAL Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18) participated in joint training exercise La Pérouse 2023 with six Allied and partner nation navies in the Bay of Bengal, March13-14

La Pérouse is a multilateral exercise designed to enhance cooperation in the field of maritime surveillance, interdiction, and air operations by progressive training and information sharing The French Navy, represented by Mistral-class amphibious assault ship FS Dixmude (L9015) and La Fayette-class frigate FS La Fayette (F 710), hostedtheexercise.

“It is vital that the Indo-Pacific remains free and open, connected, prosperous secure, and resilient, said Cmdr Spike Lamson, commanding officer, Charleston Gold Crew “Every opportunity we get to work with our regional Allies and partners helpstostrengthenthatgoal.”

Additional participants included Indian Navy Shivalik-class stealth frigate Sahyadri (F49) and Komandarm Fedko-class replenishment oiler INS Jyoti (A58), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Akizuki-classdestroyerSuzutsuki(DD117), Royal Australian Navy Anzac-class frigate HMAS Perth (FFH 157), personnel from the Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Navy offshorepatrolvesselHMSTamar(P233).

The ships met at sea to conduct force integrated training and practiced a range of surface and air warfare events to include live-firing exercises coordinated tactical maneuvering flight operations simulated air-to-surface combat exercises and communicationsdrills ExerciseLaPérouse demonstrated combined combat capabilities and seamless coordination between

Participant ships ofjoint training exercise La Pérouse 2023 sail in formation in the BayofBengal,March 14 La Pérouse is a multilateral exercise designed to enhance cooperation in the field ofmaritime surveillance,interdiction operations and airoperations byprogressive training and information sharing The Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Charleston (LCS 18),part ofDestroyerSquadron 7,is on a rotational deployment operating in the U.S.7th Fleet area ofoperations to enhance interoperabilitywithAllies and partners and serve as a ready-response force in support ofa free and open Indo-Pacific region.(PHOTOCOURTESYOFROYALNAVY) regional Allies and partners underscoring the commitment to peace, security, and stabilityintheIndo-Pacific

Attached to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, Charleston is on a rotational deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with Allies and partners serve as a ready-responseforceinsupportofafreeand openIndo-Pacificregion

As the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed DESRON in Southeast Asia, DESRON 7 serves as the primary tactical and operational commander of littoral combat ships rotationally deployed to Singapore, functions as Commander, Task Force 76⁄3 Sea Combat Commander, and builds partnerships through training exercises and military-to-military engagements as the executing agent of the Commander, Task Group Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training.

7th Fleet is the U.S. Navy’s largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, and routinely interacts and operates with Allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacificregion