THEY risk their lives to help servicemen and women in some of the most challenging conditions found anywhere in the world and now medics at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire can receive vital training before using their skills on the front line.
A new Chinook helicopter simulator is being used to train evacuation teams to act fast when getting injured troops and civilians from battlefields to hospital, and nine members of the Tactical Medical Wing have put it to the test in front of Kevan Jones MP, the under secretary of state for defence.
The exercise saw medics battling through thick smoke to rescue to casualties before rushing them back to the noisy, dimly lit helicopter to administer aid.
Two-tour veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq A&E nurse Matthew Haslam said this type of training is invaluable to medics.
“This is as close to the real thing as we can get without actually being on the battlefield,” the Flight Lietenant said. “It helps medics prepare for the challenging conditions they will have to work under. “It would have been a great help for me to have received this kind of training before my first deployment.”
Not only do the medics have to face extreme temperatures in Afghanistan, but they are often forced to act while under enemy fire. Flight Lieutenant Haslam, who has been based at Lyneham for a year, said he now carries an SA80A rifle and browning pistol along with his trauma kit.
“We’re not facing an enemy who respects the Geneva Convention," he said.
“You may have to defend yourself, and your patient.”
Flight Lieutenant Haslam is one of a five-person medical evacuation team on round-the-clock standby to rescue wounded service people and civilians.
Alongside them in the twin-rotor Chinook helicopter is a six-strong protection team.
The troops fan out to defend the landing site, as soon as the aircraft touches down, and attacks on medical flights have become so frequent that pilots are warned not to remain on the ground for more than two minutes.
The £45,000 Chinook simulator has been at RAF Lyneham since October, with one-week courses running since December. The full-size replica cabin allows rescue teams to shave vital seconds off the time it takes to recover the wounded.
The training facility is only the second of its kind in the UK, the other being at Strensall Army Base in Yorkshire.
Minister Kevan Jones watched the demonstration and took time to chat with the medics afterwards.
“I have been out to Afghanistan and seen these men and women carrying out their jobs in very dangerous and very challenging conditions,” he said.
“I came here today to see the training first hand and also to say a huge thank you for the work they do supporting and helping injured servicemen and women in Afghanistan.
“I would also like to extend my thanks to the local community for all the support they show, especially on the return of the dead from Afghanistan. The people of Lyneham and Wootton Bassett should be congratulated.”