Sgt. Lawrence Lovejoy, a combat medic assigned to 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, applies a tourniquet to a female mannequin during a training exercise at the Medical Simulation Training Center on Fort Stewart, Georgia, Dec. 2, 2020. The training focused on Soldiers applying tactical combat casualty care to a trial female mannequin. (U.S Army photo by Pfc. Aaliyah Craven)

Capt. Daniel Karakas (left), a medical corps officer at Winn Army Community Hospital, Sgt. Lawrence Lovejoy, a combat medic assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, and Spc. Ekya Graham, an aviation operation specialist assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, all strap a female mannequin to a sled during a training exercise at the Medical Simulation Training Center on Fort Stewart, Georgia, Dec. 2, 2020. The mannequin is in the beginning stages of testing and includes battlefield wounds that interchange to create multiple trauma scenarios further enhancing Soldier’s ability to assess and treat wounds on a female casualty. (U.S Army photo by Pfc. Aaliyah Craven)

Sgt. Lawrence Lovejoy, a combat medic assigned to 3rd Squadron 17th Cavalry Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, runs with a female mannequin strapped onto a sled during a training exercise at the Medical Simulation Training Center on Fort Stewart, Georgia, Dec. 2, 2020. After Soldiers strapped the mannequin to the sled, they moved to a drop off point to reassess the mannequin for further injuries. (U.S Army photo by Pfc. Aaliyah Craven)

Capt. Daniel Karakas, a medical corps officer at Winn Army Community Hospital, instructs Soldiers on how to set up a litter during a training exercise at the Medical Simulation Training Center on Fort Stewart, Georgia, Dec. 2, 2020. The training used a trial female mannequin that allowed the Soldiers to perform a chest seal and needle chest decompression on an anatomically correct female casualty. (U.S Army photo by Pfc. Aaliyah Craven)

Capt. Daniel Karakas (right), a medical corps officer at Winn Army Community Hospital, checks a trial female mannequin for breathing, while Spc. Ekya Graham, an aviation operation specialist assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, holds pressure on a wound to stop bleeding at the Medical Simulation Training Center on Fort Stewart, Georgia, Dec. 2, 2020. The training required the Soldiers to remove clothing from the mannequin's torso to feel around the breast for an entry wound and apply a chest seal. (U.S Army photo by Pfc. Aaliyah Craven)

FORT STEWART, Georgia — The Medical Simulation Training Center hosted training on a female trauma mannequin at Fort Stewart, Georgia, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 3.

Soldiers that participated in the training were combat life savers, combat medics and physician assistants. The goal of the exercise was to assess the capabilities of a female trauma mannequin against a wide range of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TC3) procedures and for Soldiers to provide feedback about their experience.

“We are assessing the prototype,” said Lt. Col. Rickardo Christopher, the product manager of medical simulation for the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation (PEO STRI). “Our first thing is to find out exactly the good, the bad and what needs improvement. Once we do that, our plan is to go ahead and do research and analysis.”

According to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Personnel and Readiness Report, the rise in females enlisting in all services rose from 16 percent in 2009 to 18.3 percent in 2016. Taking in account the rise in enlisting females, the new mannequin offers possible training for Soldiers on multiple trauma wounds, interchanging and creating multiple trauma scenarios specific to the female anatomy.

Soldiers performed a needle chest decompression and a chest seal. In order to perform procedures, Soldiers removed clothing from the mannequin's torso and felt around the breast for the entry wound and applied a chest seal.

Female mannequins prepare Soldiers for real life battlefield scenarios and ensure readiness to react quickly when needed.

“Soldiers need to be aware that they could be dealing with a female Soldier on the battlefield,” said Dr. Bill Pike PhD, a science and technology manager with the Simulation and training technology Center (STTC). “When that time comes, they need to be prepared for anatomical differences.”

Having Soldiers test and provide accurate feedback is helping the improvements of the mannequin’s functionality. Even though the female mannequin is still in it’s beginning stages,The Medical Simulation Training Center is hoping to have a viable product in the year 2022 or 2023.

“There are a lot of medical gaps that we're looking to close by incorporating upgrades and advancing development to the female mannequin,” said Christopher. “This is a bridge between the current and the synthetic training environment”