UNIPATH STAFF
A driving wind was already kicking up the powdery clay dust off the desert floor when the two shells landed with a thud. As the acrid smoke streamed into the displaced persons camp, dozens of men emerged from tents clutching throats and chests. For the throng of refugees, it was their worst fear realized: a sarin nerve gas attack committed by the very same regime they had recently fled.
In a blare of sirens, emergency response teams arrived before the smoke had cleared. Within 20 minutes, the casualties were categorized, decontaminated, diagnosed and ushered into a surgical tent, courtesy of the Jordan Armed Forces. “We had 10 cases. Four needed surgery. Others needed only a single bandage,” a Jordanian military doctor said as his last patient was stabilized.
The chemical attack was a drill, a portion of Jordan’s 2013 Eager Lion exercise meant to showcase the need for cooperation across government agencies, military and civilian. The demonstration enlisted not just the Jordan Armed Forces, but the country’s Interior and Health ministries and the National Center for Security and Crisis Management. International observers watched the exercise from beneath a Bedouin-style tent roped down against the wind.
The scenario played out meticulously: Convulsing refugees were hemmed in by crowd- control squads and Soldiers in gas masks to ensure contaminants wouldn’t spread beyond those initially exposed to the chemical agent. Meanwhile, outside the refugee camp, teams set up rows of decontamination showers, fed by hoses hooked to water trucks. Hazardous-materials squads in protective yellow suits crossed into the “hot zone” to gather samples and carry the worst cases on stretchers.
Once patients were hustled through the showers, they reached a mobile surgical tent that Soldiers can assemble within 30 minutes. The tent is partitioned into a triage area to sort the worst from the least injured, a surgical wing with two operating tables and an evacuation ward with cots. Portable air conditioners keep the temperature comfortable.
The Royal Jordanian Medical Service operates seven military hospitals across the country serving mostly Soldiers and their dependents. But its field work increasingly focuses on preparation for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosives (CBRNE) attacks, the fallout from which could exceed the capabilities of the military. Eager Lion, hosted annually by Jordan, provides an opportunity to hone those lifesaving skills.