More PETA antics

Regardless of views on the war sending over well trained medics is imperative.  But the PETA folks think otherwise.  Read on to their latest complaint:


PETA Hits DoD Use of Pigs in Training
February 19, 2009
Northwest Florida Daily News

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- The base is among several military installations that have been singled out by PETA for using live animals when training medics for traumatic combat injuries.

Through reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has confirmed that Hurlburt Field operated as a temporary site for training that simulated combat injuries on pigs.

"Typically, these exercises involve killing, stabbing and shooting these animals," said Shalin Gala, senior researcher at PETA.

The training has its defenders.

"I would much rather that an animal be used to do this than an animal end up as a pork chop in a supermarket," said John Hagmann, medical director and owner of Operational and Emergency Medical Support Group, a civilian organization that trains medics at Hurlburt and provides the pigs.

Hurlburt is used as a temporary training site about once a year.

Officials at Hurlburt said the Operational and Emergency Medical Skills Course does use animals to train medics.

"Pigs have on rare occasions been used to train special operations medics," said Dr. Mark Ervin, operational medicine division chief at Hurlburt.

That's twice in the last two years. Ervin said the training was open only to 10 percent of the 300 to 400 medics trained each year at Hurlburt.

Most of the medics are trained in Hurlburt's simulation lab.

"We have a very aggressive and actually one of the best simulation labs in the Air Force," said Ervin.

The advanced labs are partially a cause for PETA's complaint.

"We're filing these complaints because the Department of Defense requires use of alternatives when they are available," said Gala. "If these programs aren't using any animals, we're asking why are other programs such as Hurlburt's program and other Army programs using animals."

"In short, to save lives," Ervin answered. "We're very sensitive to ensure that we only use live models if we cannot adequately simulate the type of injuries we want them (medics) to learn how to manage on a human patient."

Animals were injured to treat massive traumas to vital organs such as the liver, bowels, spleen and stomach. Machines cannot simulate such wounds seen on a battlefield, said Ervin.

"For the first time in the history of U.S. military, we're actually saving lives long before they get to the surgeons because our people are actually experienced and trained in doing that," Hagmann added.

Gala contended technology can help do that.

"If we really are wanting to give our troops the best medical care possible, it really is imperative upon the Army and military to use the most sophisticated technology today and that is clearly not by using animals."

Hagmann disagreed.

"Not a single one of these references who says simulators are the same as live-tissue training are people who actually have to go to war and do this," he said. "They are all the people sitting on their couch saying that simulators are just as good. Well, the people that are actually doing it all acknowledge that they're not."

"As we've evolved, we've realized we can't get the same competence without live-tissue training," Hagmann said. "Would you ever give someone a driving license who has only driven a simulator?"

Similar training is used at bases throughout the military, he added.

PETA's campaign focuses on 17 military bases including Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Irwin in California, Fort Campbell in Kentucky, Schofield Barracks in Hawaii and Fort Wainright in Alaska.

Former Navy medic Victor Everett of Crestview received his live-tissue training from the FBI at Camp Lejeune.

"It was the best training anybody could ever receive," he said. "It definitely saved lives. If you've seen something similar, it gives you the ability to react quick instead of stopping and being in shock."

The Army, according to a report in The Virginian-Pilot, said that while it does use non-animal methods to train military medics, only the responses from a "live trauma patient" teach medics to make quick decisions that can save soldiers' lives.

"Until there are validated non-animal alternatives that can accurately mimic all of the attributes and nuances that a live patient can deliver, we will continue to use anesthetized animals in order to provide the best trauma training for the life-sustaining care of soldiers facing death or complex battle injuries," Maj. Jimmie E. Cummings Jr., an Army spokesman, told the paper in an e-mail.

Gala said he has gotten responses from some military bases.

"We've received letters from two commanders so far, saying they will take it under investigation," said Gala.

Officials at Hurlburt say they have not read or responded to the complaint. It was sent to Col. Marshall B. Webb, former 1st Special Operations Wing commander and current special assistant to the commander at Air Force Special Operations Command headquarters at Hurlburt.

Hagmann added that he has worked with medics who have been to the battlefield without his training.

"So many of them are upset because they've already been to combat. They've already seen one of their guys die or severely wounded," he said. "Now they realize they could've done something more."
© Copyright 2009 Northwest Florida Daily News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

What a disgusting and sad situation - another reason to avoid war at all costs.   

Well Abking I hate to disagree with you, while I hate war as much as anyone, the reality is the best medics and medical people are the ones who are exposed.  Having been an instructor on some very high end human patient simulators, I can tell you there is only one way to learn trauma, by doing it.  Now would would you rather have some one who has been exposed to it, and is cool under stress or do you want him or her to be OJTing on you?  Thats the difference animals hasve been used that way for years, how many of disected a frog, cat, pig, or something else in school, you think animal was dreaming of taking a a femaldehyde bath?  But our PETA friends have all the answers.   

War sucks, but pigs are pigs.  Up here we also shoot them, but with no intention of saving their lives, or any one elses for that matter...

"Until there are validated non-animal alternatives that can accurately mimic all of the attributes and nuances that a live patient can deliver, we will continue to use anesthetized animals in order to provide the best trauma training for the life-sustaining care of soldiers facing death or complex battle injuries,"

.

If these animals are anesthetized before the injury, then I suspect their lives are not a whole lot different to any farm raised pig. In fact I would guess they might be raised more humanely.

I was in a Ranger unit during the early nineties and the special forces medics would come over from group to train us in combat triage. One guy told me that to pass the test to receive their designation they had to perform lifesaving surgery on a woolly sheep that had just been shot right in front of them. It wasn't a fatal shot obviously unless the poor critter bled to death or died of shock before the medic could stabilize them. At the time I thought Jesus that's crazy but in hindsight I can see how it probably saved dozens of lives as our Spec-ops medics see this on an almost daily basis now. War does suck but like Patton said "the point is not to die for your country but to make the other poor bastard die for his" Thank-god we have the best trained medics in any military anywhere to keep that true.
 

Hey, Kev, my name's Eric, and I observed that gravely injuring an animal intentionally is disgusting and sad.  I didn't make a judgment about anything regarding how important or necessary it is.  To kill an animal to eat is part of life for most of us, but to kill an animal to learn how to save people is a different undertaking.  Again, I'm not commenting on how it's needed, just how disgusting and sad it is to have to do.  It's that bleeding heart thing (no pun intended!).  I'll bet the best of the best who are learning from this hands-on also believe it to be disgusting and sad, but that says nothing about whether it's needed.

Hope that clarifies it.   

Darn Hippies 



Regardless of who or what politics put them there, I am for giving wounded men and women the best shot at coming home alive and as close to, "intact," as they can get. 

And who is PETA to talk....these are the same people who round up stray dogs just to euthanize them, sounds real ethical to me. 

Abking No offense taken.  Being a regular street medic I wish I had the chance to work on an animal before I ever did on a human, but the reality is you end up practicing on a human with some one watching you...That is until the day you end up with something that wasn't covered during class or internship, and the pucker factor max's out.