Quotidiano.net tells the story of an Italian army raider awarded the prestigious 'Medic of the year' medal, doctor of the year.
This doctor incursor that doctor is not 'launches with respirator and parachute directional from 8 thousand meters, knows how to face a rising winter rock face, is a highly specialized diver and is able to conduct armed assaults in any condition. Finally he knows how rescue and treat serious injuries just come out of a fight, torn by bombs or ordnance craft or massacred by bullets. But he does not graduate in medicine.
MT, 30 years, Milanese, caporalmaggiore incursor del Ninth Assault Regiment paratroopers Col Moschin of the army, jewel of the Special forces (the name is covered as provided for by the same special forces), is the first Italian in thirty years awarded the title di 'Medic of the year' by the Scientific Assembly - Special Operations - Medical Association of New York for coordinating with other coalition specialists a mini field hospital immediately behind the fire line in the battle of Mosulin Iraq, the place where there is a dam protected by Italians. Here the Iraqi armed forces have snatched the area fromIsis with thousands of deaths left in the field and house-to-house fights lasted for months. We meet him at the Carlino.
How do we become war doctors without having graduated in medicine?
"Medicine is a passion that I have always had. After all the skills acquired becoming an incursor I passed the selection to access three specialized courses of Nato in Pfullendorf, in Germany, then in the United States with final stages in hospital ".
What can you do?
"I was enabled to the situations of Combat medic, which included, among other things, the assistance of an injured person autonomously up to 48 hours. All the first-aid health techniques are learned ".
Now he is a doctor of the year.
"Yes, a recognition never obtained by the Italians. As part of the award I was also awarded a scholarship that I will use to complete my health studies with a short degree in Italy ".
How did you go to the Charlotte convention center in New York?
"Beautiful experience. In addition to the award I held a conference in front of 600 health, military and civil workers, in which I exposed my experience and the most interesting cases ".
Where was it used in Iraq?
"I was part of a Combat medic unit with other members of Special Forces of the coalition during the Battle of Mosul in support of the Iraqi security forces. We went to Hamam al Alil and then to another place in the area ".
What was your task?
"We ran a wounded collection point immediately behind the front lines. There were four of us, a small group of colleagues from other Special Forces with the same specialization. For two months we have been operating 24 hours on 24, seven days a week, alternating turns of rest ".
What kind of wounded did they come?
"From 18 to 50 years. We were dealing with those of the Iraqi security forces, at least half in Italy would be called red codes, that is very serious. The 60% were affected by the IED, the artillery devices, about 35% from gunshots. So politraumatizzati ".
That?
"Soldiers with amputations, burns on the 50% of the body, head injuries".
How were you organized?
"In an abandoned building, we set up a field clinic able to cope with all the major life-saving interventions. Obviously protected by a security cordon of coalition forces ".
What interventions were they done?
“Blockage of hemorrhages, thoracic drainages, tracheostomies, transfusions, activities with ultrasound. The wounded arrived at any time, without stopping ”.
The blood for transfusions as it arrived?
"From the donations of Iraqi soldiers. For each one of them had to spend at least a month between one sample and the next, but most of them came back after two days or even the next day knowing that they could save a colleague's life ".
How did you sterilize surgical instruments?
"With a homemade oven inside which the irons were placed wrapped in foil".
The stories of the wounded?
"They told of a bloody battle, house by house. All very motivated ".
The day that will not forget?
"It was a dawn of May. The whole medical team was exhausted by a night of non-stop work. They brought us twenty wounded in one fell swoop, torn by the IEDs. There was blood everywhere. The impact was greater than our immediate assistance capacity, but we managed it anyway. "
Would he return to action in a war hospital?
"It does not depend on me. I am an incursor, so always ready to go into action ".