Deployed to the island of Tinian for Exercise Cope North, Corporal Morgan Hoellfritsch supported coalition forces, including United States Marine Corps (USMC) F/A-18D Hornet crews, as their medical technician.
Working alongside USMC counterparts, Corporal Hoellfritsch provided integral medical assistance to a multilateral spoke, which included the Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Royal Canadian Air Force.
Corporal Hoellfritsch deployed with a new agile medic pack that her unit 2 Expeditionary Health Service is currently trialling in order to provide appropriate medical care during agile operations.
“This [pack] provides life-saving emergency treatment as it is easier to access and more user-friendly, with removable inserts depending on the medical emergency,” Corporal Hoellfritsch said.
“The kit is also scalable, so I can take the absolute essentials and be more mobile in the field. The smaller compartments decrease the risk of foreign-object debris and it is easier to work under red light in tactical situations.”
Corporal Hoellfritsch provided real-time health support to both spoke airfields at Tinian North and Tinian West, integrating with coalition forces to ensure the safety of USMC aircrew and other multilateral personnel.
She spent time in the Role 1 Medical Treatment Facility assisting with simulated scenarios, moving forward to conduct pre-hospital care as well as supporting medical officers with hospital resuscitation scenarios.
“This is a significant exercise for health personnel, identifying lessons learnt for future Cope North iterations, and planning how to deploy forward to a spoke airfield,” Corporal Hoellfritsch said.
“I’ve worked closely with the different nations – United States, Japan and Canada – as well as different Australian elements, which has provided an opportunity to learn more about what a contingency response squadron does.”
Originally from Melbourne, Corporal Hoellfritsch joined Air Force in 2014 and is currently posted to RAAF Base Tindal in the NT.
She is currently studying part-time in order to commission to a nursing officer in a few years.
“The focus for me during Exercise Cope North 24 is how to move forward so we are always improving and learning from each iteration,” Corporal Hoellfritsch said.
