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1 SOW Airmen deploy to "Freedonia"

21 Sep 2009 |

Nine members of the 1st Special Operations Support Squadron and one member of the 1st Special Operations Communications Squadron deployed recently to participate in the annual multinational Jackal Stone 2009 exercise.

The scenario for the exercise, which is not based on real world events, is based on counterinsurgency efforts within the fictional country of "Freedonia." Jackal Stone kicked off Sept. 9 and is taking place in various locations throughout Croatian territories and territorial waters until Sept. 27.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for our Airmen to get out there and fine tune their skills while simultaneously building international partnerships," said Capt. Jon Earles, 1st Special Operations Support Medicine Flight deputy commander.

Approximately 1,500 special operations members from 12 member countries of NATO and the Partnership for Peace are taking part in Jackal Stone. The main participants are special forces from the United States, Albania, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Ukraine. The exercise was co-organized by U.S. Special Operations Command Europe and Special Operations Battalion of General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces. The goal of the exercise is to enhance interoperability and promote mutual respect between participating nations' special forces while exchanging training methods, tactics, ideas and doctrine.

"The overall purpose of this exercise is a very relevant one given the threats our world faces on a daily basis, and our Airmen are providing an important piece of the scenario," Captain Earles said.

The 1st SOSS is supplying exercise and real world medical support with an elite team of medics from the Special Operations Surgical Team and the Special Operations Critical Care Evacuation Team.

SOST is poised and ready to provide stabilization surgery. They have specialized field training which enables them to operate in austere environments. They can forward deploy to areas where conventional medical forces are not present. They have the ability to operate in a building of opportunity, in a vehicle or under an improvised shelter. They can rapidly setup an improvised operating room.

SOCCET offers critical care evacuation, stabilization and transport of casualties before and after surgery. This team can deploy even closer to the point of injury and ensure the survival of the wounded until life-saving surgery can be performed. SOCCET can set up and use vehicles of opportunity, whether fixed wing, rotor wing or humvee to transport wounded.

The 1 SOCS Airman who is integrated with the medical team provides communications support for SOST and SOCCET. He enables the teams to maintain communications with home station, each other, exercise players, and command and control by setting up and troubleshooting their computers, radios and phone links.

"We look forward to picking their brains when they return and finding out what our partner nations have to offer us and how they can help us improve," Captain Earles said.