Wisconsin Guard, Papua New Guinea Strengthen State Partnership
Tech. Sgt. Kailani Trainor-Bird, right, aerospace medical technician with Detachment 1 of the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Medical Group, reviews Tactical Combat Casualty Care procedures with Warrant Officer Jerry Aihi and Maj. Louisa Wanma of the Papua New Guinea Defense Force June 6, 2023, at Truax Field in Madison, Wis. The training opportunity between the Wisconsin and Papua New Guinea medical professionals was part of the National Guard State Partnership Program, ( 115th Fighter Wing photo by Senior Master Sgt. Paul Gorman) (Photo Credit: Senior Master Sgt. Paul Gorman) VIEW ORIGINAL
MADISON, Wis. – Five members of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force visited the Wisconsin National Guard in early June as part of the Defense Department’s State Partnership Program, administered by the National Guard Bureau.
The visit, according to Maj. Jessica Kelly, the Wisconsin National Guard’s State Partnership Program coordinator, was “amazing.”
“The intent of this visit was to build upon the medical introductory exchange that took place in fiscal year 2022,” Kelly said.
In March 2022, Wisconsin National Guard members traveled to Papua New Guinea to observe how the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) medical services operated. This year, medical officers from the PNGDF visited the 135th Medical Company Area Support in Waukesha, the Wisconsin Military Academy at Fort McCoy, and the 115th Medical Group at Truax Field in Madison.
The PNG medical officers presented a variety of experiences and disciplines. Maj. Louisa Wanma is the PNGDF military hospital’s second-in-command and a medical lab scientific officer. Capt. Philomena Marai is a registered nursing officer serving at Lombrum Naval Base on the island of Manus. Capt. Ryan Manzin is the commanding officer of the PNGDF preventative health platoon and an environmental health officer. Lt. Job Barnabas is a mental health nurse, and Warrant Officer Jerry Aihi is an experienced community health worker and the officer in charge of combat medical training for soldiers and recruits at the PNGDF Goldie River Training Depot.
“We’ve learned a lot of things, I will say, we don’t have in our country or don’t do,” Wanma said. “We’re understanding how your National Guard operates here. There are some things we learned on Sunday on how we do our business, and some of the things we learned can be helpful to us.”
Aihi said the visit was a privilege for the PNGFD officers.
Wisconsin Guard: Wanma pointed out a key difference in the medical training between the Wisconsin National Guard and Papua New Guinea.
“It would be interesting if they come and [Aihi] shows them what he does when he improvises,” she said.
Manzin explained that the Wisconsin National Guard has more resources and dedicated support for its training.
“Whatever [Aihi] does is all improvised. We don’t have this continuous training.”
Aihi said medical teams from the Australian and New Zealand militaries will bring training aids for medical training.
“So we don’t do refresher training,” Aihi said.
“When we go for our civil duties or actions, we go without this,” Aihi said. “If they are injured, we have to get support from the civilian hospitals — we take our soldiers directly to their hospitals for medical treatment.”
Wisconsin Guard: Manzin and Aihi noted that English is not their primary language.
“For you to stand and teach us [in English], we can take in a little, but not everything.”
Upcoming State Partnership Program engagements with Papua New Guinea include Wisconsin National Guard legal representatives participating in a legal exchange hosted by the Defense Institute for International Legal Studies and a disaster response exchange and exercise hosted by the U.S. Army Pacific to support the PNGDF in building disaster response capacity within the country.
Wisconsin Guard: The State Partnership Program has been successfully building relations around the world for 30 years and now includes 88 partnerships with 100 nations.
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