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U.S. and Malawi medics share experiences during workshop in Lilongwe

By Lt. Col. Chris Wyatt, Office of Security Cooperation, Botswana

LILONGWE, Malawi - Medical staff from the Malawi Defence Force took part in a three-day medical workshop with U.S. Army Africa Soldiers.

The event, held at Kamuzu Barracks, was the third military-to-military activity in Malawi since August 2009. It allowed U.S. and Malawian troops to share experiences in providing medical services to soldiers and civilians during combat, peacekeeping missions and in garrison.

Twenty-one Malawian soldiers participated in the workshop, led by U.S. Army Africa Maj. Terry Clark and Sgt. 1st Class Roddy Rieger. U.S. Army Africa is the Army service component command for U.S. Africa Command.

“This event was, by far, one of the greatest experiences I have had as an NCO working in Africa,” Rieger said. “It’s always great to share ideas with medics from our partner nations.”

The workshop allowed the U.S. Army Soldiers and their Malawaian counterparts to exchange ideas on the challenges of providing routine and urgent medical care for deployed troops, especially those in remote locations.

Topics the U.S. Army Africa team covered included an overview of U.S. military medical operations, preventative medicine, casualty evacuation, medical evacuation operations and combat lifesaver programs.

Lt. Simon Mphasa and other MDF soldiers shared medical care challenges while deployed the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The U.S. Soldiers also discussed their recent experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The workshop can help the MDF in developing and refining medical operations at home or when deployed, Clark said.

“The MDF medical service is very capable and they are very interested in implementing first responder concept into their line units,” Clark said.

Clark and Rieger also benefitted from the workshop, learning more about Malawian medical programs. For example, the U.S. Soldiers were interested how the MDF embeds a medically-trained infantryman within infantry units, allowing for better medical support to combat units.

The U.S. Army Africa team introduced the Malawians to the Army's combat lifesaver program which trains regular soldiers to provide emergency care.

The MDF will now begin to design its own combat lifesaver program, said Maj. Franklin Tembo, an MDF officer.

"This would serve a valuable role in complementing our own existing program in getting soldiers trained as first responders within the infantry units,” Tembo said.

The workshop culminated in a practical exercise in which MDF soldiers set up a battalion aide station and demonstrated how they run it.

“The whole event speaks volumes of Malawian military medics capabilities and their eagerness to work with U.S. Army Africa, now and in the future, as our partnership grows,” Clark said.

Cleared for public release.

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