FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Fourteen Soldiers, representing each brigade, competed to earn the title of 10th Mountain Division's Best Medic during a rigorous 72-hour competition Sept. 22-24 at Fort Drum.
The competition was designed to test the Soldiers' physical and mental strength, as well as their ability to provide medical care in stressful tactical situations.
"It's one thing for medics to work in a sterile environment," said Capt. Ryan Murphy, officer in charge of the Bridgewater-Vaccaro Medical Simulation Training Center. "It's another thing entirely to put them in the middle of the woods with a helicopter hovering 50 feet overhead with artillery simulators going off all around them and ask them 'how are you going to take care of this patient?'
"We tried to introduce an element of chaos that greatly enhances the value of the training," he explained.
Murphy said that each portion of the competition was designed to simulate conditions that medics may realistically encounter on the battlefield. Written and hands-on tests assessed the medics' abilities in skills such as performing triage, administering life-saving aid, and handling a mass casualty situation.
What is unique about medics, he said, is the broad skill set that each Soldier must possess.
"While a gunfighter is worried about one thing -- gun fighting -- the medic has to concentrate on the gun fight while also thinking 'what do I do if someone goes down?'"
In addition to being tested on their medical capabilities, the Soldiers were given several grueling physical challenges to complete.
On the first afternoon of the competition, Soldiers completed an eight-obstacle litter carry event in teams of two. Immediately, the individual competitions began. The medics completed a four-mile road march, only to find that an M-4 stress shoot awaited them at the finish line.
Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Pluard, a marksmanship instructor with the Light Fighters School, said that practicing their weaponry skills after performing strenuous physical tasks is important because it teaches Soldiers to rely upon their instincts and training.
"Practicing these combat fundamentals under stress is the basis of what we teach," he said. "Having to shoot on a range is one thing. Having to shoot under duress requires getting into that combat mindset. It trains them to react quickly and properly when they're in a stressful situation."
Other challenges included day and night land navigation exercises, a combatives tournament and a Ranger Physical Fitness Test.
The final day of the competition began with a six-mile road march, followed by realistic mass casualty and evacuation exercises. While a UH-60 Black Hawk hovered overhead, medics were required to perform triage and transport the most critically wounded simulated casualties to the aircraft for evacuation.
Soldiers received points based on their speed, agility and precision of execution while performing each task. At the end of the competition, nine Soldiers remained.
During an awards ceremony held Thursday at the Light Fighters School, Command Sgt. Maj. David Martel, 10th Mountain Division (Rear) senior enlisted adviser, said he was proud of the character, competence and dignity displayed by those who pushed through to finish the competition. He encouraged the medics to take their skills and level of determination back to their units.
"You young leaders are where the rubber meets the road," Martel said. "You are the future of the Army and you have to decide what that future is going to look like. Some of you will get knocked down, but it is those who continue to push toward the objective and the mission who will be successful."
The top four medics were Sgt. Michael D. Gianelle, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, first place; Sgt. Charles J. Benson, 3rd Squad-ron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, second place; Spc. Paul S. Leroy, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, third place; and Spc. Bradley Dixon, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, fourth place.
Benson said the most difficult thing about the competition was overcoming his own physical limitations and fears.
"I'm not a huge fan of heights, so getting over that fear of heights -- climbing all those obstacles -- was mentally challenging for me," he said. "I knew the goal and the objective, and I just did what I had to do to get it done."
Gianelle said that the uncertainty of what lay ahead during the competition was the most challenging aspect for him.
"They purposely didn't give us a lot of information," he said. "It was really about doing the best that we could no matter what was thrown at us."
Ultimately, he said that remaining flexible and adaptive was what allowed him to complete each challenge to the best of his ability and come out ahead of his competitors.
"I'm sore and tired, but it feels amazing to go through the fire and come out the other side and know it was all worth it," Gianelle said.
Gianelle and Benson will go on to represent the 10th Mountain Division at the Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark Jr. Army Best Medic Competition Nov. 3-7 at Camp Bullis Training Site, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
Murphy said that all four of the top competitors will complete intensive training for the event, working on strengthening their skills and addressing areas of weakness identified by graders during the 10th Mountain Division-level competition.
With continued support from instructors at the Light Fighters School, Murphy is confident that the medics will be able to hone their skills and become a force to be reckoned with during the Army-level competition.
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