Operation OKRA

A small group of Australian health practitioners shared trauma bay care techniques with Iraqi Army medics at the Iraqi Army medical facility at the Taji Military Complex on Tuesday 29 September 2015. This was the second opportunity Task Group Taji has had to exchange medical care techniques with Iraqi Army health practitioners.

The visit provided the Australian and New Zealand medics an opportunity to help the Iraqi medics establish a functional trauma bay and refine their procedures when they deal with a casualty. Previous training together has covered primary health care including the identification and treatment of common illnesses, plastering, suturing, trauma management, and combat specific first aid such as needle decompression, chest injuries and bandaging.

Iraqi Security Forces continue to be trained by Task Group Taji personnel from Australia and New Zealand at the Taji Military Complex in Iraq as part of the broader international Building Partner Capacity (BPC) mission. The training includes marksmanship, building clearances and obstacle breaching techniques; as well as training in the Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs) for squad through to company-level operations to use in their fight against Daesh.

Task Group Taji's BPC contribution is part of Australia’s broader Defence contribution to Iraq, codenamed Operation OKRA, which includes a Special Operations Task Group and an Air Task Group.