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VOLUME 75, EDITION 28
The
GL BE SERVING CAMP LEJEUNE AND SURROUNDING AREAS SINCE 1944
FURLOUGH-RELATED CLOSURES, SERVICE REDUCTIONS | 2A
Eager Lion
26th MEU helps replace damaged track blocks| 3A
Marines conclude training in Jordan | 6A WEDNESDAY JULY 3, 2013
WWW.LEJEUNE.MARINES.MIL
Hazmat training
AL QUWEIRA, JORDAN
MEU Medical brings unique capability to Jordan CPL. MICHAEL S. LOCKETT
26th Marine Expeditionary Unit
The Marines and sailors of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit often operate on the far edges of the world in small countries most Americans cannot even name or find on a map. Out here on the edge, the necessity for a rapid and effective medical establishment is critical for the mission and for the health of those involved. Marines and sailors cannot always rely on getting to a hospital in a timely matter if there is a life-threatening injury. This is where the sailors and naval officers of Shock Trauma Platoon and the Expeditionary Resuscitative Surgery System come in. This mobile medical facility is dedicated to stabilizing Marines or sailors who may receive life-threatening injuries out on the ranges during Exercise Eager Lion 2013. “It’s a concept developed during Iraq as a frontline resuscitative capability,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. James Epperly, emergency medical physician. “Anything we can do on land in an emergency room, we can do at STP. We’re a portable emergency room.” The STP is capable of handling six critical cases at one time and is the intermediary between the point of injury and a higher echelon medical facility. Some victims may need to eventually be transferred to a permanent facility with the capacity for long term care, such as a local hospital. The ERSS is an expeditionary surgical suite dedicated to stabilizing life threatening injuries before transport to a higher echelon facility. Built initially to be transportable to any ship in the fleet, the ERSS has never been used in the field before Exercise Eager Lion 2013. “This is the first time the ERSS has been used on the ground,” said Capt. John Love, naval medical officer and officer in charge of the ERSS. “We tend to think in terms of an hour from the point of injury to surgical capability.” With the location of the ranges relatively distant from local medical facilities, the ERSS was brought in for its first use as a groundside medical option to bridge that gap, giving Marines and sailors the best possible chance of survival. The medical personnel of the STP and ERSS are also taking the opportunity to train with medics from the Jordanian and Bahraini militaries, focusing on teaching their medics how the Navy sets up an expeditionary medical facility and conducts business from one. The medical personnel will be training with each other for the duration of Exercise Eager Lion 2013. Exercise Eager Lion 2013 is a annual exercise designed to strengthen tactical proficiency in critical mission areas, support long-term relationship and enhance regional security and stability by responding to modern-day security scenarios.
Photo by Sgt. Austin Hazard
Lance Cpl. Adam Manche, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense specialist, goes through decontamination after searching a subway car for an unknown chemical or biological agent during hazardous material response training at the Guardian Centers in Perry, Ga., June 21.
22nd MEU CBRN completes advanced, realistic hazmat training SGT. AUSTIN HAZARD
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit
R
asped, metallic breathing echoed down the long darkness moments before being lanced by beams of light. Several bulky, amorphous silhouettes stepped carefully down the aisle, flanked by vertical poles, bench seats and scattered bodies. Red lights snapped into existence and were placed upon the life-sized dummies used to simulate casualties. Four Marines, dressed in their cumbersome level “B” protective suits, continued to search the subway cars for casualties, marking them for later rescue and for the toxic agent responsible for the scenario. This was
the culminating event of an advanced, weeklong course for the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, using a functioning subway station, four-car train and nearly three dozen dummy casualties. Eleven chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense Marines completed the custom-tailored course at the Guardian Centers, a rescue and hazardous material response training agency in Perry, Ga., June 21. The 22nd MEU was the first deployable unit to receive training at the Guardian Centers, which opened in December. “I built the course with the end state of them being able to operate in a foreign clandestine environment with chemical, biological and explosive elements,” said Nathan Cummiskey, Guardian Centers CBRN and hazmat
director. “We specialize in customizing courses for the needs of the units. Once they told us what the 22nd MEU mission set was, we built our props and scenarios around its needs.” The Guardian Centers’ 830 acres of facilities include a mock town comprised of numerous buildings, each realistically furnished and some capable of collapsing on command. Most of the Marines’ training was held in these facilities, where chemical or biological attacks and clandestine labs were simulated with real hazardous materials and even booby traps. “This was a training venue that used live chemicals, which gave the Marines a chance to see how their sensors and equipment
Former Camp Lejeune landowners
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Inside
Summer cheers aboard Lejeune 1B
Photo by Charlie Clark
(From left to right) Jean Gillette, Catherine Aman, Mary Mobley Baggett, Charlotte Dexter and Melanie Sheldon, children of former Camp Lejeune landowners, hold photos of their old family homes and pose with Harold Napier, a realty specialist with Marine Corps Installations East-Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Installation Development Division, while visiting the public works office aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, June 27. The women and their families compiled photos and information about the former landowners and their properties since 2005. The women visited the public works office records vault to research the land’s history more and share information with Napier. A reunion for former Camp Lejeune landowner’s and their descendants is scheduled for the first Sunday in October at the Staff Noncommissioned Officer’s Club aboard base. For more information about the landowners, visit www.marinebasehomes.smugmug.com.
Readers dig into past
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