Timawa Donation Group – The story thus farOn June 8, 2008, the Marine Corps Training Center (MCTC) awarded the following plaque to the Timawa Donation Group
The plaque was an unexpected gesture of thanks from the outgoing MCTC superintendent. His decision, however, presented his staff with a completely unfamiliar task:
“How do you give recognition to a virtual entity?”The group was a loose collection of individuals who, for the most part, only knew each other from their posts on the Timawa.net forum. Anonymity was the norm, and few had ever met each other in real-life. Most didn’t even know their fellow group member’s real names. The group neither had a formal roster, nor a set table of organization. Faced with the group’s unstructured nature, the MCTC opted to address the recognition to the forum’s Web address.
(Opus will be adding a redirect so that anyone typing
www.timawa.net\forms still ends up in the forum)
The occasion marked the first time that the group’s efforts had ever been acknowledged publicly. The cat . . . was finally out of the bag.
Walking the walkIt all began with a bag . . . specifically a medical bag. A Timawa moderator had been appointed course director for a program to train Marine Corpsmen, and had shared the stunning lack of supplies that his future graduates faced with his fellow moderators on the moderators-only section of the forum. Apparently, it was not unusual for Corpsmen to go to the field with nothing . . . no bandages . . . no medical kits . . . just their training.
This prompted another moderator to start Googling for surplus shops and noted the ease with which medical supplies, particularly medical kits, could be acquired online. This started a “what-if” discussion about how Corpsmen could be supplied.
A third moderator, whipped out his credit card, and ordered the kit that had become the focal point of discussions.
The date was September 17, 2006. The transition from an all-talk forum, to one with a bias for action, had begun, and Basic Marine Aidman Course (BMAC) Batch 20 was the opening salvo. (See
MBAC 20)
The beneficiaries had been selected; and the donation items designated. The next task was to look for forum members who would put their faith, and their personnel resources, in the hands of complete strangers.
To the relief of the organizers, and the amazement of officers within the AFP, there were indeed people on the forum willing to take part in such endeavors. Some had been members of other existing help-the-AFP groups. While others had been silently helping the AFP on their own and welcomed the opportunity to work with other like-minded individuals. All, however, were individuals who understood the value of walking the walk.
ProjectsSince its inception, the group has completed six projects for units in two AFP services. Efforts spanned a whole range of activities from open-source (non-classified) research in support of new-equipment-acquisition position papers, to actual acquisition of assets. As a policy, the group does NOT deal with weapons.
TDG donations are done on a direct-to-unit basis. This ensured timely delivery of the donated items to the end-users themselves. Responsibility for ensuring proper documentation and notification of higher headquarters was with the receiving unit. Because of the mode of operation described above, details for some projects cannot be revealed at this time.
Thus far 24 Timawans from the Philippines, North America, Europe, and Australia, have helped raise in excess of P280,000 for the various projects and/or provided open-source information for various studies.
The following projects have advanced sufficiently on the administrative front that they can be discussed openly.
Project #1: Marine Basic Aidman Course #20Details here:
http://timawa.net/forum/index.php/topic,7418.0.htmlSince graduation, one graduate has been killed in action. Others continue to serve their respective units, including Marine Force Recon. A TDG member in the service is in constant contact with the graduates whose feedback about the overall quality of MBAC training have thus far been very positive.
Months after graduation one trainee, who had been dropped from the course for non-course related matters, found himself in a highly publicized firefight in Basilan. During the encounter, his unit's Corpsman was injured. He did his trainers proud by stepping in and applying the live-saving lessons he learned during MBAC. He saved a number of his comrades that day. For his actions, he has since been given an opportunity to graduate with a future MBAC batch.
Project #4: PMC AmbulanceDetails here:
http://timawa.net/forum/index.php/topic,10740.0.htmlTDG involvement in this project started as early as the concept-paper stage for the ambulance. Forum members assisted in collecting open-source information about similar ambulances in other armed forces. AFP servicemen on international deployment were particularly helpful.
Of the three operational vital-signs monitors (one was a non-functional spare), one has been deployed with the Armored Assault Bn (AABn) in preparation for mounting on the 2nd Armored Ambulance. The first ambulance deployed to the field before the monitors arrived and therefore has not yet been equipped. Minor retrofitting will be required to prepare it to accept its monitor.
The two other monitors remain in the custody of the Office of the PMC Surgeon, pending deployment. In accordance with equipment documentation, all monitors remain charged at all times to ensure longevity of their batteries. Of these two, one will be assigned to the 3rd Armored Ambulance, while the other will be temporarily assigned to the Medical Dispensary at Marine Base Ternate.
As of writing, full use of the monitors are hindered by the lack of the following accessories:
1) ECG Cable and 3 lead wire set, Tronomed Life Linc, Snap (Protocol Order Number, 3 Lead: 008-0025-XX)
2) Adult / pediatric NIBP Hose, 10ft with " twist lock" cuff connector (Protocol Order Number 008-0238-XX)
3) Standard Adult Cuff (reusable NIBP Cuff, bladderless) 23-33 cm (Protocol ORder Number 008-0291-14)
These will be the focus of a future project.
Project #5: LVTP/LVTE documentation searchThis was a project for the PMC-CSSB, and involved a multi-nation search for documentation about the LVTP/LVTE. This was in anticipation of further development on this area of concern. The TDG efforts focused on OPEN SOURCE data sources (e.g., museums, collectors, etc.), to yield documents like this:
First phase of this study has been complete. The second phase is now a joint PMC-USMC effort.
Project #6: Marine Basic Aidman Course #21Member of this course graduated on May 14, 2008. They have since been deployed to the Marine AOR in Basilan/Sulu. As of writing, there have been no casualties for this batch.
This project featured the following significant milestones:
1. First large scale local purchase of donation items. Previously, items were purchased abroad, and then sent to the Philippines. For this project, funds were sent to in-country TDG members who then purchase the items. Supplies were obtained from various medical supply establishments in Banaue, QC.
2. First use of an on-the-ground team. This was the first project that involved a highly responsive on-the-ground component. This project would not have been possible without the help of Timawans who were willing to put in the leg-work. To these gentlemen, the rest of the group owes a great debt of gratitude.
3. Unlike Batch 20, where only the top 3 graduates were given individual items, for this project all graduates were given medical supplies to augment the provisions that were made available to them -- by itself an important achievement on the part of the PMC (previously, Corpsmen were sent into the field without supplies).
Marine Surgeon Personnel Inspecting the Supplies
Marine Surgeon Personnel Accepting and Receiving Supplies
4. This project is actually part of a multi-phase effort to support the medical aspect of the PMC Battalion of Excellence program. The project included the donation of folding stretchers whose usefulness in Philippine field conditions will be tested by MBAC 21 graduates. Subsequent phases of this aspect of this project will depend on their feedback.
Lessons LearnedThis project marked the first time that overseas funds were sent to the Philippines for equipment purchases. Funds were transferred by Xoom.com -- whose less than favorable exchange rates had to be taken into consideration.
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