FORT SILL, Okla. Aug. 7, 2014 -- Medics of 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery trained on deep water rescue and did combat lifesaver (CLS) training for the Soldiers of the "Red Dragon" Battalion during mid-July training scenarios here.
During Sergeant's Time Training, Sgt. Jordan Williams, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the medic section, challenged his Soldiers by moving their training environment outside their comfort zone.
With the help of the Rinehart Fitness Center pool lifeguards, Williams led his section through deep water rescue training. It was designed to educate the medics on how to rescue an injured patient from the water. The training was divided into two lessons: deep water extrication and deep water immobilization.
"Learning such a valuable survival skill prepares these medics to perform a rescue mission in any theater of operations," said Williams. "There are a lot of hasty roads and bridges in countries we are likely to be deployed in. We could end up with a launcher or Soldiers with injuries in the water. It is best that we know how to extricate injured Soldiers for those situations."
During the first block of instruction, a group of medics practiced identifying drowning victims and safely pulling them out of the water.
The second block of instruction proved a greater challenge for the medic team. The Soldiers were given the scenario of approaching a victim with a possible cervical spine injury. So as to not cause further injury, one rescuer had to maintain the positioning of the victim's head while rotating the victim's body in the water. This is a vital step in the recovery process because a small misstep can cause the victim further injury. Once the victim is successfully rotated, the other rescuers helped float the victim's hips to slide the long board underneath the body. When properly accomplished, these skills can be the difference between survival or death.
Williams praised the effort he saw in the medics.
"They are an outstanding group of Soldiers that all bring something unique to the table," Williams said smiling. "They are very well rounded and have a high level of enthusiasm."
After honing their skills with specialized training, the medic section taught a weeklong combat lifesaver course to the other Soldiers of the "Red Dragon" Battalion. Soldiers from a variety of military occupational specialties trained on first aid skills. The 40-hour course was divided into three days of classroom instruction followed by practical exercises, a written test and one day of trauma lanes.
The culminating exercise tested everything the Soldiers learned during the week. Divided into squads, Soldiers had to successfully execute fast paced scenarios that mimicked the chaos of combat.
Soldiers began the trauma lanes unaware of the potential situations they were about to face.
Within a minute, the squad took a casualty and had to perform medical aid while taking enemy fire. While some squad members engaged the enemy, the CLS team treated a wide variety of injuries.
To further intensify the experience and add to the chaos, the members of the Red Dragon medic team used water bottles filled with blood-like red punch.
"[It was a challenge] to try to communicate and keep the team together," said Pvt. Zacchaeus Butler. "The instructors were running around you pouring punch blood everywhere and making sure everyone [was] where they [were] supposed to be and using the right techniques to take care of the casualty."
The trainees were deemed to have successfully completed the course when all injuries were identified, treated, and the casualty was relocated and prepared for medical evacuation. As a final step, Soldiers had to successfully request medical evacuation using the standard 9-line format and fill out a casualty feeder card for the flight medic.
"It is good to see the training we are doing come to fruition it's nice to know I'm making a difference in the unit," said Spc. Colin Lucas, a battalion medic. "If we ever go to combat, I can trust these guys to do their job as a CLS."
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