Pentagon Medics Trained For Strike
http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=272&issueID=31
Aerial view of the Pentagon crash site on Sept. 14
Matt Mientka
October 2001
WASHINGTON-Though the Department of Defense had no capability in place to protect the Pentagon from an ersatz guided missile in the form of a hijacked 757 airliner, DoD medical personnel trained for exactly that scenario in May.
In fact, the tri-Service DiLorenzo Health Care Clinic and the Air Force Flight Medicine Clinic here in the Pentagon trained jointly in May to fine-tune their emergency preparedness, afterward making simple equipment changes that would make a difference Sept. 11 when the hypothetical became reality.
Col. John Baxter, USAF, MC, commander of the Air Force clinic, told U.S. MEDICINE last month that at approximately 8:42 a.m. on Sept. 11 he neither heard nor felt anything while training personnel in the back room of the fourth floor clinic, though people in the reception area heard an "explosion" and felt a movement in the building. The three physicians, three technicians and one nurse then at the clinic grabbed their trauma packs, routinely carried only on overseas missions, when someone in the hallway shouted to evacuate. "We could smell smoke and it was clear that something had occurred," he said.
The Air Force team headed for the DiLorenzo Clinic downstairs to coordinate emergency care but was diverted to corridor five, where survivors had been found. "The first one we came to was an Army lieutenant colonel [who] was lying on his back on the floor somewhere near the fifth floor and had severe burns, his skin peeling back and a severe finger injury," Dr. Baxter said. "He was in such pain that I actually gave him some morphine right out in the hallway because it was difficult to even touch him, and then we moved on to another patient who was similarly injured and then to one more while we were still in the building," he said. While they were assessing those first three patients, Dr. Baxter added, the severely burned Army officer kept repeating his room number, which was in the E ring right by the blast, and pleaded for the team to find the 11 people in the room he had just left.
The Air Force team then ran up the stairs to the fifth floor of the burning building to search for more survivors, checking all five floors. "The smoke was asphyxiating, it was very difficult to breath and you couldn't see much except a little bit of area near the floor, so we went as far as we could go and then came back," he said.
Finding no more survivors in the vicinity, the team directed stretcher crews to move the patients to the Pentagon's inner courtyard, unaware yet of the cause of the blast. After moving the patients to the courtyard, the team was told that another hijacked aircraft was expected to hit the Pentagon in less than two minutes, prompting them to move the patients and equipment back through the building and, finally, outside near Boundary Channel Drive, where a makeshift triage area had been set up.
Col. James Geiling, MC, USA, commander of the DiLorenzo Clinic, happened to be away from the Pentagon during the plane crash, performing critical care work at the nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dr. Geiling told U.S. MEDICINE last month that soon after seeing the World Trade Center and Pentagon carnage on television, critical care physicians at Walter Reed rushed to receive the first patients from the Pentagon blast while he drove through traffic-laden Washington streets, getting only as far as the 14th Street Bridge before leaving his car at the Jefferson Memorial.
Dr. Geiling said he then attempted to run across the 14th Street Bridge to the Pentagon, dressed in his scrubs and armed with a stethoscope and military I.D., but was stopped by a police officer who would not let him pass. "I could see it, I could smell it, but I couldn't get there," he said. Dr. Geiling said he then returned to Walter Reed, but by 3 p.m. he was able to get to the Pentagon to assist in a medical response that was already winding down. Since the most severe burn patients had already been flown by helicopter to area hospitals, Dr. Geiling said he began to account for all of his people and equipment.
Both Dr. Geiling and Dr. Baxter reported that the May training exercise had prepared them well to respond to last month's terrorist attack. Dr. Baxter said his clinic, for example, retooled its trauma packs and ordered new uniforms that identified clinic personnel by function, allowing the first-responders of the Arlington County emergency medical service to immediately recognize physicians, nurses and technicians.
http://www.usmedicine.com/article.cfm?articleID=272&issueID=31
Aerial view of the Pentagon crash site on Sept. 14
Matt Mientka
October 2001
WASHINGTON-Though the Department of Defense had no capability in place to protect the Pentagon from an ersatz guided missile in the form of a hijacked 757 airliner, DoD medical personnel trained for exactly that scenario in May.
In fact, the tri-Service DiLorenzo Health Care Clinic and the Air Force Flight Medicine Clinic here in the Pentagon trained jointly in May to fine-tune their emergency preparedness, afterward making simple equipment changes that would make a difference Sept. 11 when the hypothetical became reality.
Col. John Baxter, USAF, MC, commander of the Air Force clinic, told U.S. MEDICINE last month that at approximately 8:42 a.m. on Sept. 11 he neither heard nor felt anything while training personnel in the back room of the fourth floor clinic, though people in the reception area heard an "explosion" and felt a movement in the building. The three physicians, three technicians and one nurse then at the clinic grabbed their trauma packs, routinely carried only on overseas missions, when someone in the hallway shouted to evacuate. "We could smell smoke and it was clear that something had occurred," he said.
The Air Force team headed for the DiLorenzo Clinic downstairs to coordinate emergency care but was diverted to corridor five, where survivors had been found. "The first one we came to was an Army lieutenant colonel [who] was lying on his back on the floor somewhere near the fifth floor and had severe burns, his skin peeling back and a severe finger injury," Dr. Baxter said. "He was in such pain that I actually gave him some morphine right out in the hallway because it was difficult to even touch him, and then we moved on to another patient who was similarly injured and then to one more while we were still in the building," he said. While they were assessing those first three patients, Dr. Baxter added, the severely burned Army officer kept repeating his room number, which was in the E ring right by the blast, and pleaded for the team to find the 11 people in the room he had just left.
The Air Force team then ran up the stairs to the fifth floor of the burning building to search for more survivors, checking all five floors. "The smoke was asphyxiating, it was very difficult to breath and you couldn't see much except a little bit of area near the floor, so we went as far as we could go and then came back," he said.
Finding no more survivors in the vicinity, the team directed stretcher crews to move the patients to the Pentagon's inner courtyard, unaware yet of the cause of the blast. After moving the patients to the courtyard, the team was told that another hijacked aircraft was expected to hit the Pentagon in less than two minutes, prompting them to move the patients and equipment back through the building and, finally, outside near Boundary Channel Drive, where a makeshift triage area had been set up.
Col. James Geiling, MC, USA, commander of the DiLorenzo Clinic, happened to be away from the Pentagon during the plane crash, performing critical care work at the nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dr. Geiling told U.S. MEDICINE last month that soon after seeing the World Trade Center and Pentagon carnage on television, critical care physicians at Walter Reed rushed to receive the first patients from the Pentagon blast while he drove through traffic-laden Washington streets, getting only as far as the 14th Street Bridge before leaving his car at the Jefferson Memorial.
Dr. Geiling said he then attempted to run across the 14th Street Bridge to the Pentagon, dressed in his scrubs and armed with a stethoscope and military I.D., but was stopped by a police officer who would not let him pass. "I could see it, I could smell it, but I couldn't get there," he said. Dr. Geiling said he then returned to Walter Reed, but by 3 p.m. he was able to get to the Pentagon to assist in a medical response that was already winding down. Since the most severe burn patients had already been flown by helicopter to area hospitals, Dr. Geiling said he began to account for all of his people and equipment.
Both Dr. Geiling and Dr. Baxter reported that the May training exercise had prepared them well to respond to last month's terrorist attack. Dr. Baxter said his clinic, for example, retooled its trauma packs and ordered new uniforms that identified clinic personnel by function, allowing the first-responders of the Arlington County emergency medical service to immediately recognize physicians, nurses and technicians.