JTF-Bravo’s Mobile Surgical Team Puts Skills to the Test in Honduras

ON DECEMBER 10, JOINT TASK Force-Bravo’s (JTF-Bravo) Mobile Surgical Team treated several “patients” during a training exercise at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras.

The only permanently assigned military surgical team in South America, JTF-Bravo’s Mobile Surgical Team is responsible for providing surgical support to both military and civilian personnel during large-scale disasters. The team is entirely mobile with a two-hour activation response time and can operate independently for up to 72 hours.

“Our capabilities are to provide five major life- or limb-saving operations consecutively without need for resupply. Additionally, the team can provide advanced trauma life support to 15 patients as well as providing limited post-operative recovery for surgical patients prior to evacuation,” explains Army Dr. (Col.) David Cancelada, mobile surgical team commander on the U.S. Southern Command website.

During the training exercise, members of the team set up DRASH shelters as mobile field hospitals, complete with all the medical equipment needed to treat patients from the field. Once set up, the team, which consists of a surgeon, a nurse anesthetist, two operating room nurses and two operating room technicians, used the shelters to pre-screen patients and perform five minor “surgeries.”