Pope Medic provides pivotal medical training for coalition forces

By Senior Airman Kris Levasseur
Editor

Master Sgt. Krystal Marks, 43rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, recently returned from a year deployment to Bagdad, Iraq, where she taught a hands-on Combat Lifesaver course that drew students from both military and civilian organizations.

While her primary mission in Iraq was to train and equip the Iraqi Security Forces’ medical healthcare systems, her experience and knowledge was used to teach and give hands-on training to others who were deployed in theatre.

In her capacity as the Senior Enlisted Medical Advisor for the United States Forces-Iraq, Deputy Commanding General-Advising and Training Health Affairs, Sergeant Marks was a vital component in accomplishing the mission.

U.S. Air Force Photo by Master Sgt. Trish Bunting

Master Sgt. Krystal Marks, aerospace medicine technician with United States Forces-Iraq, Deputy Commanding General-Advising and Training Health Affairs, demonstrates what one liter of blood might look like on a bleeding victim during the combat lifesaver course Dec. 29, 2009. The students learned to check patients for any visible signs of blood loss during initial assessment. Sergeant Marks recently returned to Pope from deployment and hails from Warren, Ohio.

“There is a great need for medical training for coalition and Iraqi forces,” said Sgt. Marks. “We stood up classes and trained about 120 members.”

“We developed a course for the Iraqi police because they haven’t had the medical training that every U.S. service member receives prior to their deployment. We are all in this together — no service goes to war alone; the way combat has evolved we have to be able to talk to each other and convey the same ideas,” she added. “If everyone is taught the same way to save people, then it brings us together.”

The Combat Lifesaver training course that she instituted was a three-day, hands-on course that taught participants how to apply tourniquets, stop bleeding and overall stabilize the injured until they can be cared for by professionals.

According to Sergeant Marks, if someone recognizes a life threatening wound, knows the signs and symptoms and can apply the skills taught here, then deaths can be prevented.

This deployment was a unique experience for Sergeant Marks. She was selected for the 365-day deployment after volunteering for it on the Assignment Management System. This was her first deployment in her 13 year career.

“When I first found out I got selected for the deployment I was very excited,” Sergeant Marks said. “It was a great experience to see that side of our mission and what we did there really made a difference. We helped to develop and standardize medical training for their medics.”

Working with Iraqi forces was a significant experience, according to Sergeant Marks.

“The Iraqi Forces were extremely appreciative of the skills we were teaching and the knowledge they were gaining,” she added. “Their hunger to save their country and to help their country stand on its own two feet without help was truly awe inspiring. I would do it all again in a heart-beat.”

Although Sergeant Marks has returned to Pope, her homecoming will be short-lived. She has been selected to attend the U.S. Air Force First Sergeant Academy at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, Ala. and will move to Patrick AFB, Fla. upon graduation.

Sergeant Marks expressed her excitement about her upcoming career change.

“Being a first sergeant is all about the people,” she said. “During my deployment, I had the opportunity to see just how important that can be. When people are having problems, you want to help them, and I can’t wait to do that for a living.”