Base officials provide answers from ATSO RODEO questions Published Oct. 29, 2007 8th Fighter Wing KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea -- The following are questions and answers from the ATSO RODEO held recently. For additional information, click here. 1. Is Alarm BLUE used for real world as well as exercises? Answer: Yes, Alarm BLUE will be used for real world situations. This is specific to the Korean Peninsula. Alarm BLUE is equivalent to Alarm RED elsewhere. 2. If you are contaminated can you process through a zone transition point? Answer: No if you are contaminated contact your UCC and they will direct you to the nearest CCA. 3. When calling in M8 results, should I use color or type of agent? Answer: COLORS. When reporting contaminated M8 call in the color and the density (Light, Medium, or Heavy) of the dots on the paper, not the type of agent. 4. Are buddy checks only required immediately after assuming MOPP 4? Answer: No, buddy checks are a continual process while wearing MOPP 4; moving around can cause openings in your protective gear leaving you vulnerable. Questions from self aid buddy care (SABC) training 1. When placing a patient on a litter, does it matter if the patient's arms are strapped underneath or over the litter straps? Answer: In a real world situation, if the patient is unconscious, the arms should be strapped. If the patient is conscious, the arms should be free. For exercises, always leave the arms free. Reason: If the patient fell off the litter, they would be able to use their arms to minimize impact. 2. For a sucking chest wound, does it matter if we tape all four sides down compared to three sides? Answer: Yes, three sides should be taped, while the fourth side is left untapped. Whenever the casualty exhales, air is expelled from the chest cavity and escapes from underneath the open edge of the patch. Whenever the casualty inhales, the patch sticks to the skin and keeps air from returning into the chest cavity. This helps to re-inflate the collapsed lung. Use the casualty's hand to cover the wound while you quickly prepare an occlusive patch. The plastic wrapper of a battle dressing works very well, although any air-tight material can be substituted, such as: · Cellophane · Aluminum foil · Duct Tape · Vaseline Gauze 3. How do you tighten a litter strap? Answer: Always tighten the straps with the buckles against the side of the litter, not over the patient. 4. If a patient is experiencing signs of heat exhaustion/stroke, how do you stop them from shivering if they start to? Answer: Shivering is not a primary sign of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. A patient may shiver, but this might result to the sudden change of his/her body temperature. First and foremost, get your patient out of the hot environment! For mild cases of heat exhaustion, provide rest in a cool, shaded area. Give cool fluids such as water or sports drinks (that will replace the salt that has been lost). Salty snacks are appropriate as tolerated. Loosen or remove clothing. Apply cool water to skin. Do not use an alcohol rub. Do not give any beverages containing alcohol or caffeine. For heat stroke: Move the person to a cooler environment, or place them in a cool bath of water (as long as they are conscious and can be attended continuously). Alternatively, moisten the skin with lukewarm water and use a fan to blow cool air across the skin. Give cool beverages by mouth only if the person has a normal mental state and can tolerate it. 5. Mark 1 kits or AATNA injectors? Which one is preferred? Answer: These two are basically the same. The Mark 1 kits are the old ones and the AATNA (2 in 1) is going to replace the Mark 1 kits when they are all exhausted or expired. AATNA is the one being issued out to our deployers. For SABC training and exercise purpose we (EET) are now using the ATNAA for training.