Page 9 - QARANC Vol 15 No 2 2017

to the appropriate level. Never was this more vital a task than on Op TRENTON 2, the medical entry operation. Our mandate was to establish an S1 facility for approximately 4 weeks and to then increase our footprint to an S4. S1 is one RESUS bay, one operating table, one ITU bed and a small BMS capability. The S4 was similar but bigger, with 4 RESUS bays, 2 operating tables, 4 ITU beds and 6 ward beds. This configuration is nothing new; however, it could be argued that the S1 and S4 concept is more akin to the battlefield than a United Nations support mission. This consideration was of course taken into account (to a degree) and shown with the considerable number of Primary Care assets bolted onto the S4 along with 10 more ward beds.
And so after all the visas had been applied for and countless All Ranks briefs, MATTS packages and even Level 2 SERE, and after the flight dates had been pushed further and further right and almost at the point when the troops morale was at rock bottom, we finally got the go ahead and then some more visas were reapplied for. The challenges didn’t finish there however. What we somewhat naively and with the power of hindsight, didn’t realise was that getting to South Sudan was the easy part; getting to Bentiu, however, was something else. Pictures don’t really do the transit camp justice. At our first stop in Juba, suffice to say it made Sennybridge look like Butlins.
“Only two weeks there and we (the S1 team of 16 PAX) will be in location putting the smaller S1 facility up, then
A health promotion day at the local school teaching handwashing. An amazing day!
THE GAZETTE QARANC 7
it’ll be brews, mail and PT till the rest of our S4 colleagues get here”. The engineers had other plans for us, however, and so after five 45000 litre wriggly tin water tanks, 9 weather haven tents, countless sandbags, and what felt like a working day similar to those found in a hot Russian gulag, it only took another 2 weeks till we were FOC (Fully Operationally Capable) for the S1. With much of our workforce initially spread over three countries (UK, Kenya and South Sudan) and then three locations in South Sudan (Juba, Malakal and Bentiu) it will have taken at least two and a half months from the start of 16 Medical Regiments deployment to get all of our eggs in one basket and ultimately have the S4 FOC.
The majority of our patients thus far have been D&V from a small selection of infective sources. The S4 and, in a limited fashion, the S1 have had to make a number of adaptations, all of which highlights the elephant in the room. With the Armed Forces moving to re-engage with the United Nations again, providing support operations to austere environments is a capability developed for strike ops, really the best fit? If it’s not, then do we need to generate something more appropriate?
To those about to deploy on Op TRENTON 4 and 5...Don’t forget your wellies and Gortex.
Sgt Nadim Khan QARANC 16 Med Regt/23 Sqn
A touching but uplifting ceremony commemorating the late Cpl Michael Lamb RAMC