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CNN Saturday Morning News
U.S. Troops Train in Kuwait
Aired February 08, 2003 - 09:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: In Kuwait, more than 45,000 U.S. military troops are training in preparation for a possible war with Iraq. Military officials toured a hospital in northern Kuwait on Friday to gauge the readiness of emergency procedures.
Just how will the military handle the wounded if war breaks out? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If a war breaks out, it is these soldiers who will see combat, and they will likely be fired upon. They represent the front line, preparing and preparing some more, to take care of the injured.
(on camera): You got to be scared out of your mind. I mean, this guy -- you know, the person you are treating is someone who has just been injured, obviously, sometimes by a bullet, sometimes by something else. What are you thinking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't really think, you just go. Then it's, like, 10 seconds of terror, right, because everyone just, like, the ball drops, and everyone looks at you.
GUPTA (voice-over): The first person on the scene is the medic, in this case, Specialist Gilman.
(on camera): So if a comrade has fallen, they are going to be yelling, Medic! And that's you. Tell me what you do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I would, ASAP, get to the casualty as soon as possible. I would step in and start from the ABCs. Just start treating them, making sure he's got a good level of consciousness, check his airway.
GUPTA (voice-over): And then quickly get the injured soldier to an armored personnel carrier, otherwise known as a...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: M-oh-one-three-eight-two. Our job is to evac casualties from either the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) back to an exchange point.
GUPTA: This vehicle, commanded by Corporal Garrick (ph), lives on the front line and will transport the injured, sometimes under fire.
(on camera): And it's armored, right? So you take people into this armored vehicle and bring them where?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To the Forward A Station, and then from the Forward A Station, then we would air-evac them on Black Hawk.
GUPTA (voice-over): And from there to the ambulance. This one is called the M-577, and is staffed by P.A. Cutler.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we do life-saving stuff. We don't do any surgery or anything. The most invasive we'll do is probably put a chest tube in. We concentrate on airway, breathing, circulation, and to sustain life until we can get them evac'd to a level 2, a level 3 facility.
GUPTA: And with injuries sustained during war, speed of resuscitation is often the key.
(on camera): You guys want to show us the bird?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
GUPTA: All right.
(voice-over): And nothing is faster and more versatile than a helicopter, in this case, a Black Hawk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our whole mission is to be speedy. Our main purpose is to, of course, is to support the war fighter. And if they need quick treatment, then we're the best way to get them, move them by air. Haven't seen very much so far, but we are training continuously.
GUPTA: And preparing, so that they all come home and come home alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Fifty to 20 kilometers from the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border, that's where we found some of the most impressive young soldiers we have met, charged with not only being on the front line, as you saw there, but also taking care of the wounded. So a couple of very important tasks there, Heidi.
COLLINS: Sanjay, I know that there was a car accident that involved some U.S. soldiers. What happens in that sort of instance? Who treats them, and how do they fare through all of this?
GUPTA: That's right, there was a car accident, five soldiers involved. One died, four were seriously injured. In fact, they would be taken to facilities very much like the ones you saw there to be treated. At those facilities, they can do all sorts of things, including stopping bleeding, actually even performing minor operations, putting in chest tubes, things like that.
As you did hear, one of the officers did die in that sort of thing. But that's exactly the sort of facility where they'd actually be treated, Heidi. COLLINS: And do a comparison for me, if you would, Dr. Sanjay, as to the type of facility that you work at in the U.S. and what is going on over there in Kuwait. What are the biggest differences that you see?
GUPTA: Well, I'll tell you, you know, one of the interesting things, I'd never seen any of these medical facilities before, obviously, here in the desert, in the middle of a military camp. Very impressive in terms of the resources they have. Remember, you are in the middle of a desert. There is sand, there is questions of hygiene, all those sorts of things.
Yet they're able to perform minor operations, even some major operations at the higher-level facilities. All those sorts of things. So a lot of similarities, a lot of trauma-type similarities, the trauma hospitals and these military camps having a lot of similarities, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, good to hear. Dr. Sanjay Gupta live from Kuwait. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 8, 2003 - 09:44 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: In Kuwait, more than 45,000 U.S. military troops are training in preparation for a possible war with Iraq. Military officials toured a hospital in northern Kuwait on Friday to gauge the readiness of emergency procedures.
Just how will the military handle the wounded if war breaks out? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If a war breaks out, it is these soldiers who will see combat, and they will likely be fired upon. They represent the front line, preparing and preparing some more, to take care of the injured.
(on camera): You got to be scared out of your mind. I mean, this guy -- you know, the person you are treating is someone who has just been injured, obviously, sometimes by a bullet, sometimes by something else. What are you thinking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't really think, you just go. Then it's, like, 10 seconds of terror, right, because everyone just, like, the ball drops, and everyone looks at you.
GUPTA (voice-over): The first person on the scene is the medic, in this case, Specialist Gilman.
(on camera): So if a comrade has fallen, they are going to be yelling, Medic! And that's you. Tell me what you do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I would, ASAP, get to the casualty as soon as possible. I would step in and start from the ABCs. Just start treating them, making sure he's got a good level of consciousness, check his airway.
GUPTA (voice-over): And then quickly get the injured soldier to an armored personnel carrier, otherwise known as a...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: M-oh-one-three-eight-two. Our job is to evac casualties from either the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) back to an exchange point.
GUPTA: This vehicle, commanded by Corporal Garrick (ph), lives on the front line and will transport the injured, sometimes under fire.
(on camera): And it's armored, right? So you take people into this armored vehicle and bring them where?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To the Forward A Station, and then from the Forward A Station, then we would air-evac them on Black Hawk.
GUPTA (voice-over): And from there to the ambulance. This one is called the M-577, and is staffed by P.A. Cutler.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we do life-saving stuff. We don't do any surgery or anything. The most invasive we'll do is probably put a chest tube in. We concentrate on airway, breathing, circulation, and to sustain life until we can get them evac'd to a level 2, a level 3 facility.
GUPTA: And with injuries sustained during war, speed of resuscitation is often the key.
(on camera): You guys want to show us the bird?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
GUPTA: All right.
(voice-over): And nothing is faster and more versatile than a helicopter, in this case, a Black Hawk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our whole mission is to be speedy. Our main purpose is to, of course, is to support the war fighter. And if they need quick treatment, then we're the best way to get them, move them by air. Haven't seen very much so far, but we are training continuously.
GUPTA: And preparing, so that they all come home and come home alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Fifty to 20 kilometers from the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border, that's where we found some of the most impressive young soldiers we have met, charged with not only being on the front line, as you saw there, but also taking care of the wounded. So a couple of very important tasks there, Heidi.
COLLINS: Sanjay, I know that there was a car accident that involved some U.S. soldiers. What happens in that sort of instance? Who treats them, and how do they fare through all of this?
GUPTA: That's right, there was a car accident, five soldiers involved. One died, four were seriously injured. In fact, they would be taken to facilities very much like the ones you saw there to be treated. At those facilities, they can do all sorts of things, including stopping bleeding, actually even performing minor operations, putting in chest tubes, things like that.
As you did hear, one of the officers did die in that sort of thing. But that's exactly the sort of facility where they'd actually be treated, Heidi. COLLINS: And do a comparison for me, if you would, Dr. Sanjay, as to the type of facility that you work at in the U.S. and what is going on over there in Kuwait. What are the biggest differences that you see?
GUPTA: Well, I'll tell you, you know, one of the interesting things, I'd never seen any of these medical facilities before, obviously, here in the desert, in the middle of a military camp. Very impressive in terms of the resources they have. Remember, you are in the middle of a desert. There is sand, there is questions of hygiene, all those sorts of things.
Yet they're able to perform minor operations, even some major operations at the higher-level facilities. All those sorts of things. So a lot of similarities, a lot of trauma-type similarities, the trauma hospitals and these military camps having a lot of similarities, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, good to hear. Dr. Sanjay Gupta live from Kuwait. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
