![]() “I think we did provide a little bit of comfort in that way,” she said, “that they knew ‘I should be experiencing this and hopefully it will go away.'”Īnd despite the differences in their backgrounds and current situations, the language barriers and the stress of knowing they’d soon be back on the battlefield, the Americans and Ukrainians were still able to find those quintessential “soldier” moments that cross cultural barriers. They were frustrated, but Whitler reassured them that what they were experiencing was, unfortunately, normal. Whitler also recalled moments talking to Ukrainian troops who were exhibiting signs of traumatic brain injuries due to Russian artillery impact - symptoms like dizziness, headaches, or just feeling angrier or more irritable. So sometimes, Americans were there just to listen, and “if nothing else to … reassure them that they’re doing an amazing job and that they couldn’t have done anything better.” Desirie Carson, a combat medic specialist - told CNN it now includes simulations on mannequins, practicing responding to mass casualty events, and addressing burns and fractures.īut it’s those human-to-human moments that will stick with the Americans long after the mission is over.īallard said it was clear that many knew they’d soon be “going directly back into it” and “potentially experiencing some of the same things” they were still trying to process. Two New York National Guard soldiers who are now training Ukrainians - McCarthy and Staff Sgt. The training has grown, though Whitler and Ballard have moved on from conducting it themselves. “Those conversations were hard,” Whitler said, “and sometimes we just were able to provide some solace that they did everything they could, and even if there was an OR right next to them, a surgeon couldn’t have saved them.” They asked what to do next time if they were to see a similar injury, and in some cases they asked what they could have done to save a fellow soldier, if only they’d known how. Oftentimes, Whitler said Ukrainian troops brought up real-world examples that they’d experienced in the war raging just miles away. But unlike those US troops, the Ukrainians had come straight from a battlefield and were preparing to go back. The training is similar in many ways to what US soldiers get. ![]()
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