AIBANO TRAINING AREA, Japan — “Bilateral” took on a new meaning during the Japanese-American medical training exercise here, during Orient Shield 2016, recently. 

Orient Shield itself is a bilateral exercise, and the back-and-forth between Japanese and American medics during the multi-stage training exercise raised the bar. After a week of planning, medical professionals from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the U.S. Army’s 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division rolled out a complex simulation. 

Scenarios in the exercise allowed American and Japanese medics to share best practices for casualty treatment in a simulated high-stress combat environment. The medical training exercise included providing care while taking fire, setting up a mobile triage and evacuating casualties by ground and air transport.  

“I get to see how other people do what I do, and not only does it make me appreciate my job more, it makes me appreciate what [the JGSDF medics] do," said Army Sgt. Erica Bruckhart, a medic from the Louisiana Army National Guard and an observer during the simulation. "It just makes my job that much more special.” 

Throughout the exercise, JGSDF and U.S. Army medics exchanged best practices, offered encouragement and advice, and generally lived up to what Orient Shield is all about. 

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