Around 200 participants from more than 18 NATO nations and organizations trained in Tartu, Estonia, how to provide medical support and patient flow management from NATO’s eastern flank back to rear are in Central and Western Europe in case of a NATO Article 5 scenario.
„This exercise allows for NATO medical officers and specialists to train here in Estonia, in Estonian conditions, with Estonian and allied forces, with Estonian civil medical partners the provision of medical support. This real and practical cooperation and synergy is the priceless value of such an exercise,“ said the Estonian Defence Forces Surgeon General Lieutenant Colonel Targo Lusti.
The exercise Casualty Move 2023 (CAMO 2023) was a multinational map exercise/tabletop exercise (MAPEX/TTX) that provided the training audience with a training opportunity to test how to conduct and sustain a multinational medical support system in a NATO collective defence scenario.
The exercise primarily focused on NATO´s patient flow management while also addressing the medical chain of command, medical operations, the patient evacuation coordination Centre (PECC), medical planning, medical logistics, military treatment facilities (MTFs) and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC).
The exercise Casualty Move 2023 (CAMO 2023) was the third iteration of the CAMO-series and was designed, planned and conducted by the Multinational Medical Coordination Centre/ European Medical Command (MMCC/EMC) and was hosted by the Estonian Military Academy in Tartu, Estonia. Around 200 participants from more than 18 NATO nations and organizations took part, including members of the Estonian National Health Board and from the Northern and Southern Medical Centres of Estonia.
According to the Director of MMCC/EMC Brigadier General Stefan Kowitz NATO’s medical personnel have to train for the defence of the Alliance.
„Our soldiers within the medical services of EU and NATO have to be able to care for and coordinate a high influx of patients, or casualties, in case the Alliance needs to be defended. Considering the large distances within the Alliance’s territory, take, for example, the line from the Russo-Finnish border down to Portugal, this is a coordinative task not to be underestimated, which necessitates a close civil-military cooperation,“ said Brigadier General Kowitz.
„Additionally, a well performing medical service can bolster morale and increase combat prowess. This is why it essential to have a durable and combat ready medical services in NATO and the EU,“ emphazised Brigadier General Kowitz.
The mission of the Estonian Military Academy is to train and educate senior non-commissioned officers, as well as junior and senior officers for the Estonian Defence Forces and National Defence League. The EMA has established a national reputation in Estonia for expertise in military research and development, including war and disaster medicine.
