AKIPRESS.COM - A team of U.S. soldiers with the Alaska National Guard Medical Detachment supported the multinational peacekeeping exercise Khaan Quest 2016 in Mongolia by training both U.S. and international partners in combat medical care, according to the official homepage of the U.S. Army.

The course topics were summarized with the acronym MHARCH, which stands for 'Major Hemorrhage, Airway Respiration, Circulation and Hypothermia', and covers a wide range of immediate care techniques service members could encounter while supporting peacekeeping missions around the world.

The U.S. instructors started with an introductory class explaining the hierarchy of care and the appropriate techniques to be administered to different injuries.

After the classes, instructors demonstrated how to administer casualty care using students as dummies to perform the techniques on. U.S. soldiers encircled the instructors outside the training tent to observe demonstrations of bandaging, tourniquet application and techniques for carrying wounded patients.

"We have been teaching members of many different countries, and each has brought a new dynamic to the training," said Army Capt. Francis Marley, who is assigned to the Alaska National Guard Medical Detachment. "Different countries have different approaches and, medical care capabilities, from the most rudimentary to the more advanced. These differences allow us to learn from each other and improve based on the additional perspectives."

The training culminated with a practical application event that consisted of a tactical movement replicating how soldiers would maneuver under fire to perform immediate, lifesaving care to a simulated casualty.

After the practical application, students and instructors gathered to reflect on the training and provide after-course critiques.