FA Soldiers refine Combat Life Saver skills

By Sgt. Joe DeesJune 19, 2014

Critical class
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FORT SILL, Okla. June 19, 2014 -- Medics and Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 214th Fires Brigade met June 10-12 to train on the Combat Life Saver (CLS) course.

The training helped Soldiers stay current on essential warrior tasks.

"These are perishable skills," explained Sgt. Courtney Fitzgerald, combat medic and CLS instructor. "Things are constantly changing and improving, so constant training with trained medics is important to staying proficient. CLS is as important as any other warrior task and skill in that anyone can use it at any time to save a battle buddy and preserve the fighting force."

Two days of classroom instruction focused on the fundamentals of CLS, the phases of tactical field care and methods of applying appropriate care for nearly every situation. The lessons culminated in hands-on training with every tool in the aid bag.

The Soldier students practiced on dummies and even one another when situations permitted. Using one another to apply pressure bandages, properly use and handle litters and inserting nasopharyngeal airways allowed students to feel the actual strength, pressure and techniques needed to treat real patients.

Instructors stressed the importance of care precedence, ensuring students understood what levels of care were appropriate to any combat situation. Knowing what injuries to treat in what order and how to prepare a patient for medical evacuation were points of extreme focus and concern, points not lost on the Soldiers present.

"You are the first line of defense against your battle buddy dying a preventable death," said Spc. Nathanial Meyers. "I've seen it on my deployments that there won't always be a medic right where you need one, when you need one, but you and your buddies are always there with each other. You are in the seat next to them and have to know what to do if they are hit; we all depend on each other to be able to save each other's life."

To test the ability to save a life, instructors evaluated every student's ability to react in a simulated combat situation. A darkened basement complete with flashing lights, combat sound effects and an instructor screaming while spraying "blood" from a water bottle forced the combat life saver to operate under pressure.

"This final evaluation was designed to test a Soldier's abilities in the most realistic scenario we could concoct," said instructor Staff Sgt. Adam Dines. "We wanted to capture every phase of tactical combat casualty care in a short time involving physical and mental strain in a stressful, noisy environment. It is easy to say what you would do when you are relaxed in a classroom, but real learning and knowledge is developed in a chaotic combat scenario when blood, adrenaline and emotions are flowing."