RELEASE NUMBER: 150108-01
DATE POSTED: JANUARY 8, 2015
Doctors, medical specialists train in Chad
U.S. Africa Command
CHAD, Africa (USASOC News Service, Jan. 8, 2018) - Medical practitioners and doctors from various civil and military organizations in Chad trained with U.S. counterparts to refine their skills during a medical readiness training exercise (MEDRETE) conducted in the village of Mini, Chad, Dec. 19, 2014.
Civil Military Support Element (CMSE) Chad, and a civil military operations (CMO) element from the special anti-terrorist group (SATG) of the Chad Army, along with doctors from Mini were part of the training exercise funded by U.S. Africa Command.
The exercise involved the Chadian medics working together with U.S. Special Operations Forces (USSOF) medics to obtain vital signs, perform initial consultations, present appropriate diagnoses, and prescribe proper medications and treatments for the people of Mini.
People were separated into three groups of men, women, and women with children to allow medical personnel to see equal numbers from each group. More than 400 people were treated during MEDRETE while a few specialized cases were referred to the district hospital in Biabokoum. A concerted team effort by the doctors and medics made it possible to treat 200 men, 136 women, and 102 children.
Malaria, diarrhea, and typhoid were the most frequently treated illnesses during the exercise; left untreated these diseases can result in death. To further benefit the area where MEDRETE was conducted, remaining medications were donated to the local clinic, while the residual vitamins were distributed to parents to give to their children.
“MEDRETE proved to be an outstanding opportunity for medical specialists to both sharpen their skills and to treat patients in an isolated and vulnerable area,” said AFRICOM Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA) program manager, U.S. Air Force Maj. Craig Dutton. “Furthermore, documenting the types of illnesses addressed will allow future teams to better predict medications needed for potential MEDRETEs.”