Amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) integrated medical team set a new benchmark during a mass casualty drill, May 14.

"From the time the first plane arrived and they took the first patient; it was nine minutes before the first patient was going to the ICU (intensive care unit) and 13 minutes before the first patient was in the operating room," said Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Brain Campbell, U.S. Fleet Forces Command. "That was phenomenal to see how well they work together and how quickly and smoothly that worked."

Campbell noted it usually takes 20 minutes to get the first patient to the ICU.

The purpose of the drill is to test the newly integrated medical team in a mass casualty and casualty-receiving scenario. The scenario is designed to stress the medical capabilities aboard ships.

"When you are doing joint ops (operations) you want unity of effort and to do that you need unity of purpose," said Capt. Christopher Kurtz, commander, amphibious task force surgeon for Wasp Amphibious Ready Group. "You can't get any more uniform of purpose than in the medical field."

The simulated causalities ranged from burns, fractures, amputations and sunken chest wounds. Once the casualties arrived, the medical team then had to evaluate, stabilize and treat them.

"They had a coordinated plan," said Campbell. "Every corpsman, every doctor, every nurse knew what their position was and where they needed to be."

The Wasp integrated medical team includes medical personnel from Wasp, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 2.

"There is no my team, your team," said Wasp Medical Department Leading Chief Petty Officer, Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Nathan Marsh. "Everybody is on board, we all know what the mission is, and we all have the same mission -- which is get everybody back home."

Wasp's medical department has four operating rooms, 15 ICU beds, 38 inpatient ward beds, and approximately 550 overflow beds for humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

Wasp Amphibious Ready Group is currently in the Atlantic Ocean conducting a composite training unit exercise in preparation for an upcoming deployment.

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