Delegates briefed on the hospital
The hospital and its staff are scheduled to be deployed to the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) in the second quarter of 2018. The hospital is the first unit of the Vietnamese military to implement such a mission.
Present at the event were Major General Nguyen Hong Son, Director of Military Hospital 175, Senior Colonel Hoang Kim Phung, Director of the Vietnam Peacekeeping Center, delegates from the Defense Ministry, and medical experts from the UK and the US.
In his opening speech, Senior Colonel Hoang Kim Phung emphasized that Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping activities shows the onus which rests on Vietnam, as a UN member country to bring about peace and stability to conflict zones around the globe.
The on-going exercise provides a good opportunity for military medical professionals from Vietnam, the UK and the US to evaluate the overall operation capability of the field hospital. Thus, the hospital’s staff should be determined to make the exercise a shining success which will be reported to leaders of the Defense Ministry and the Ministry’s Steering Committee on Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations.
Meanwhile, Major General Nguyen Hong Son asked the exercise participants to implement seriously the army regulations, ensure human and equipment safety, and successfully carry out all tasks of the exercise.
Captain Anthony Salvant, Head of the US professionals’ delegation, highlighted the team-working skills of the hospital’s staff in preparing for the exercise, symbolizing the effective cooperation among Vietnam, the UK, and the US. The exercise provides contributions to promoting confidence and professionalism within the hospital’s staff before undertaking a UN mission for pre-deployment verification at the end of this year.
Gifts presented to heads of the US and UK delegations
On behalf of the field hospital’s staff, Major Bui Duc Thanh, Head of the hospital, underlined the importance of the exercise in improving the participants’ field professionalism to be ready for all issues in any circumstances during operations in the coming missions at the UNMISS.
This is the first time the Vietnam Defense Ministry initiates a large-scale exercise for staff of the field hospital in order to help them master the expeditious use of the various pieces of equipment. The exercise, which lasts till September 23, is supported by experienced military medics from the UK and the US.
Accordingly, the exercise includes various training contents. From September 11-15, they practice operating the hospital and simulating some medical incidents, such as serial wounds caused by bombs and mines, limb injuries, victim burns, cholera, and malaria, with valuable assistance from foreign experts. From September 16-18, they will undertake exercises for the general operation of the hospital, including addressing further medical incidents and running the hospital under direct individual observation from the Vietnamese, US and UK experts. From September 19-23, they will perform the exercise in the presence of leaders of the Defense Ministry and then finally recover and sanitize the equipment of the field hospital before transporting them to Military Hospital 175.
Translated by Van Hieu