24 Vietnamese peacekeepers depart for South Sudan

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Staff of Vietnam’s Level-2 Field Hospital No. 3 at Tan Son Nhat International Airport.

The second and last group of staff of  Vietnam’s Level-2 Field Hospital No. 3, including 24 medics, departed for the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in South Sudan from Ho Chi Minh City on April 21.

 A ceremony was held at HCM City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport to see off the staff before they boarded the Royal Australian Air Force’s Boeing C-17 Globemaster III to fly to the war-ravaged South Sudan. 

The first batch departed for the African country from HCM City, also on the Boeing C-17 aircraft provided by Australia, last month. They completed mandatory quarantine and are in the UN base in Bentiu since April 17 to replace the Level-2 Field Hospital No. 2. 

The level-2 field hospital No. 3 was established in March 2020 with 70 officers and soldiers, including 64 official and six reserve members.

Before boarding on Australia’s C-17 aircraft, all the officers were vaccinated against COVID-19 epidemic and participated in intensive training courses in giving first aid for traumas, driving trailers and BRT 152 armored vehicles, and other subjects of must-know things in South Sudan.

Earlier, on March 24, 33 field hospital medics were dispatched to the African country for the first phase. Two days later, they landed safely at South Sudan’s Juba International Airport. After experiencing the required quarantine period, they arrived at Bentiu base to begin their mission on April 18.