DAKAR, Senegal — Successful medical readiness training exercises do not depend just on doctors’ and nurses’ abilities. Additional medical professionals who maintain the necessary equipment are vital to achieving the events’ objectives. 

During Medical Readiness Training Exercise 17-1 at the Hospital Militaire De Ouakam in Dakar, Senegal, U.S. Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer 3 David Bostic, a biomedical technician from the 332nd Medical Brigade in Nashville, Tennessee, shared his experience and expertise in inspecting, maintaining and repairing medical equipment to facilitate medical care by U.S. and Senegalese military medical personnel. 

Bostic and his Senegalese counterparts contributed to the exercise’s primary focus of building partner cohesion between collaborating military medical practitioners. They spent their time making sure medical equipment used in the exercise functioned properly. 

Vermont Air National Guard Maj. Anthony Donaldson, a MEDRETE 17-1 team member and urologist, said, "In urology we use extremely advanced equipment and technologies. Without biomedical technicians to ensure that these are properly functioning, all this advanced equipment is useless." 

In addition to confirming the medical equipment’s functionality, biomedical technicians work with medical personnel to purchase and use new technology. New equipment was not available during MEDRETE 17-1, so Bostic and his Senegalese partners had to rely on each other’s acumen to service a medical sterilizer, imaging scanner intensifier, electrosurgical unit and an electrocardiograph machine. 

Some of the equipment was donated without manuals or testing tools so the biomedical technicians had to collaborate using previous experiences with similar devices to service the equipment accordingly. 

Bostic seized the opportunity to share best practices on how to connect, operate, test and maintain a portable oxygen generator, portable water system and an environmental control unit. 

“Some of the equipment had been in the warehouse since 2010, and since there were no manuals, they may not have known how to inspect, setup, connect and use the equipment as dictated by the technical user’s manual,” Bostic said. “This is where having a foundational knowledge of general medical equipment came in and (our collective) experience paid off.” 

Bostic added that the MEDRETE would be an invaluable training experience for new biomedical technicians. 

“After advanced individual training and prior to a deployment, MEDRETEs could be an ideal place to train newly certified biomedical technicians because they’ll be challenged in an alternately resourced environment while building partnerships and enhancing our partners’ capabilities,” said Bostic.

MEDRETE 17-1 highlighted the importance of gaining general experience as a biomedical technician. “In many cases experience was the only resource we had to draw from in this environment,” said Bostic. “It was an honor to share the experience of servicing equipment beside the Senegalese biomed techs.” 

MEDRETE 17-1 is a combined effort between the Senegalese government, U.S. Army Africa, the U.S. Army Reserve 332nd Medical Brigade and the Vermont Air National Guard. MEDRETE 17-1 is the first in a series of medical readiness training exercises that U.S. Army Africa is scheduled to facilitate within various countries in Africa, and serves as an opportunity for the partnered militaries to hone and strengthen their general surgery skills while reinforcing the partnership between the countries. The mutually beneficial exercise brought Senegalese military and U.S. Army medical professionals together to foster cooperation while conducting medical specific tasks.

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