FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Soldiers with D Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, completed four days of tough, realistic combat life saving training Nov. 22 at the Bridgewater-Vaccaro Medical Simulation Training Center on Fort Drum.
Soldiers began the course with classroom training on life-saving techniques like assessing casualties and treating different types of battlefield injuries. After a thorough review of the material, the students then applied what they learned during hands-on scenarios.
Throughout the training, Spc. Saa A. Sinah, the company's lead line medic, continuously emphasized the importance of being attentive and fully engaged in what was being taught.
"It's really necessary for the Soldiers to learn combat life-saving skills, because when they joined the Army, they joined as warriors," Sinah said. "And when they go to war, people get hurt. They have to be able to take care of others as well as themselves."
The hands-on portion of the training also prepared Soldiers for their final examination. The test required them to physically demonstrate all that they had learned by evaluating and treating simulated casualties while being evaluated by medics.
"I really believe in hands-on training because the more you practice hands on, the more you can develop the muscle memory to perform the skills when you need to," said Sinah.
Hands-on learning with training mannequins and working in the well-equipped labs at the Bridgewater-Vaccaro Medical Simulation Training Center made the experience enjoyable and informative.
"It was pretty fun, once we got past the classroom part," said Pvt. Xavier Torres, a squad automatic weapon gunner. "I thought it was really good training."
The final exam was administered in two parts. It challenged Soldiers with different scenarios, all carried out with the sounds of explosions and intense small-arms fire.
During the first scenario, Soldiers had to conduct a squad-level patrol before approaching a wrecked Humvee with a simulated casualty. Teams had to provide medical care and evacuate the "injured" mannequin using a litter under fire. The exam tested their teamwork and physical abilities while they negotiated imposing obstacles like walls, a hill and a low-lying tunnel while ensuring the casualty was kept secure and level.
"My favorite part was climbing the wall, even though it was tough to do because of the cold and the mud," Torres said.
In the second scenario, Soldiers entered a building where simulated casualties were located in various rooms. They had to locate the mannequins amid darkness, thick smoke and chaos. Already under great stress, the test was made more difficult when evaluators began screaming and instructing the Soldiers to quickly assess their casualties and to execute their treatment in time to save their lives.
After what seems like the longest minutes of their lives, the gunfire stops, lights come on and the smoke begins to clear. After a brief after-action review, Soldiers receive their "go" from the evaluators.
The Soldiers left the course ready and confident in their abilities to render aid and save lives, knowing they will be prepared when duty calls.
"We have to be ready to go (and) ready to deploy," said Sinah. "Whether it is to Afghanistan or for a humanitarian mission, we have to be ready."
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