Combat medics from Ukraine training Estonian Defense League
Combat medics from Ukraine have been training their Estonian Defense League counterparts on the realities of treating the wounded in modern-day warfare.
The paramedics are being trained on how to deal with evacuation being delayed for days and when injuries are extensive, in both cases often thanks to the advent of drone warfare, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.
The two-week tactical medicine course has been overseen by the women's Voluntary Defense Organization (Naiskodukaitse) on behalf of the Defense League (Kaitseliit).
A total of 45 female paramedics have been taking part in the tactical medicine course over the past two weeks.
One participant said flexibility is key: The struggle of safely moving a wounded person, who may weigh 100kg, on your own, for instance.
But above all, the immediate survival of the patient must be practiced, said Keila territorial defense company paramedic Aili Saar. "Right now we have to pass all this information and knowledge on to our soldiers. So that they know how to apply a tourniquet, move it if necessary, depending on how long they might remain wounded somewhere waiting. All of this must be practiced on each other and on ourselves," Saar said.
Course organizer Maria Lemberg, a Ukrainian volunteer, said this is the second training run in Estonia by Ukrainians.
"Last spring we invited members of the Ukrainian armed forces to take part in exercises we organized in Estonia. This is when we got to know the Women's Voluntary Defense Organization. It was they who joined in in precisely realizing this idea," Lemberg said.
Also attending was a British combat medic who has worked in Ukraine for several years. Formerly of the British Army's X Royal Army Medical Corps, the medic, "Vara," also became interested in Ukraine thanks to having a Ukrainian grandfather.
He told "Aktuaalne kaamera" about the realities of modern day warfare in Ukraine, which has rendered standard NATO doctrine in this arena as good as obsolte.
Drones in particular have made evacuating the wounded from the front line impossible using the old way, and sometimes an injured soldier has to wait days for transport. Tactical survival might be a better term than tactical medicine, he added.
"Every soldier has to have a good level of medical experience. They have to have a good standard of medical training. They need to know how to apply a tourniquet and pack a wound properly, and deal with themselves, to treat themselves, because it might take some time to get to them. The war has changed everything. Anyone that thinks NATO doctrine works is kind of kidding themselves," "Vara" said.
The injuries themselves are also different from those seen in previous wars. "Vara" gave his friend as an example, who suffered multiple injuries from just one First-Person View (FPV) drone, then was hit again by another.
"He got injured, took six days for him to be extracted; he had 18 points of injury from an FPV. One. And then on the extraction, he got hit again by another FPV," he added.
Looking forward, Lemberg said that, for example, Ukrainians will be able to share their experience in drone warfare with Estonians in the years to come.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mari Peegel
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera'
