LANDSTUHL, Germany  –   Thirty military medical professionals from six NATO member countries attended the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine’s Medical Evaluation Course (MEDEVAL) at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), Feb. 22-25. The course certifies medical professionals to evaluate exercises across NATO medical capacities.

Learning objectives throughout the four-day exercise included: understanding the NATO medical support system in multinational operations, the medical evaluation process within the framework of validation and certification, and the ability to evaluate medical modules as an evaluation team leader / member.

“As certified medical evaluators, we can evaluate NATO medical capabilities anywhere in the world,” said U.S. Army Maj. Ashley Welsh, an occupational therapist with the 254th Medical Detachment, 421st Medical Battalion, 30th Medical Brigade. “We can assess personnel, equipment and procedures to make sure they abide by NATO standards.”

The NATO MILMED COE is a multinational military organization that certifies personnel to be NATO evaluators of operational medical units, assist the alliance in its goal of continuous transformation in the medical field, and build relationships with NATO allies and partners.

“It is important that we keep those connections and know how to complete tasks across many different languages and cultures,” said U.S. Army Capt. Josie Econome, deputy chief of operations at LRMC. “We have the same mission, and we can all accomplish it in different ways.”

Participants completed the course by observing a simulated medical exercise at the U.S. Army’s 512th Field Hospital at Rhine Ordnance Barracks, Kaiserslautern. First-impression reports were made and presented by participants following the exercise.

“This is a practical approach to learning about evaluation,” said German Armed Forces Lt. Col. Uwe Geiss, a pharmacist with the Medical Service Operational Command. “The course is a wonderful opportunity to share experiences from different viewpoints and learn from each other with the goal of being more compatible in an operational environment.”