FORT DRUM, N.Y. (June 8, 2016) -- Spc. John Horn and Sgt. Sara Morris, both health care specialists assigned to C Company, 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), crossed Lake Champlain, via ferry, to meet with their regionally aligned Vermont Army National Guard medical teammates assigned to C Company, 186th Brigade Support Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), to attend their annual two-week training cycle held at Camp Ethan Allen, Jericho, Vt.
During their visit, they focused primarily on assisting with the instruction and grading of approximately 60 Soldiers assigned to the 186th BSB, who were attending a combat life saver recertification class held May 25-26 at an adjacent training site provided by the Army Mountain Warfare School.
"Today we are learning the combat life saver skill sets that will be necessary when things go down overseas," said Sgt. Denis Nunez, primary medical instructor assigned to C Company, 186th BSB. "We will be looking at how to apply a combat tourniquet quickly and efficiently, ... how to (prepare) a patient for a casualty or medical evacuation, and how to call for a nine-line medical evacuation request correctly."
Nunez explained that these skills are vital in extending the "golden hour" of casualty care on the battlefield, but he cautioned that these skills will perish if they are not practiced.
"This training is extremely beneficial to Soldiers who aren't constantly thinking about the medical side of the military," Nunez said. "Having them sit down and refresh these things gives me the confidence to say that not only can I help you, not only can I be the force multiplier, but you as well can help me, and we together can create a much stronger force."
Part of building a stronger force across the Army, regardless of component, is sharing lessons learned through experiences collected in garrison and combat -- something Nunez said he was happy to be a part of during this exercise.
"I'm very excited to see them (Horn and Morris) here," Nunez said. "I think it will be very beneficial going both ways to see how we each train -- and really, just learning from each other is the most important part."
To assist them and to share valuable information, the group visited the National Guard's battalion support area, where Maj. Amy Denis, C Company commander, explained how they established and maintained medical treatment facilities while in a field environment.
"Primarily what struck me was that how much alike we already are when we were discussing the function of our medical companies," Denis explained. "Everything is doctrinal -- we are (both) running business the same way. It's just that our layout and some of our equipment might be a little bit different."
Commenting on the subtle differences was Sgt. Sara Morris, C Company, 210th Brigade Support Battalion, who noted the layout of their medical support area offered more space to care for patients.
"For this cross-training, we saw how they set up and how they functioned," Morris said. "Knowing how we work, we can give them ideas for things they may not have considered and vice versa."
"Spacing wise, they had more room to work with," she said. "I think it would have to be something we try before I could make a judgment on the layout. I like the idea of more space to work in, but I also understand the cons to that."
Morris noted that the National Guard gained working space with additional tents and the separation of certain ancillary procedural equipment.
"Ancillary services consist of x-ray, dental, lab work and physical therapy," Morris explained. "So if we get patients in there who are not too bad off, we can treat them in a single field tent."
Denis said the exchange of ideas has motivated her to evaluate how they train their Soldiers.
"It sparks some inspiration and ideas on how we can train our Soldiers between our brigade and the 10th Mountain Division and give our Soldiers the opportunity to train with the 10th Mountain working in their troop medical clinics," she said.
Denis added that working more closely together only makes sense, being that they are the only two mountain units in the Army.
"Your Soldiers and our Soldiers all have a lot of experience; they have deployed and have a lot of information to share on how to improve medical operations. I'm certainly looking forward to more opportunities to work with (our counterparts) on the other side of the lake."
Soldiers of 186th BSB will have their next opportunity to work with Soldiers of 210th BSB later this summer during Operation Vigilant Guard in Vermont.
During this exercise, they will assume a coach, teach and mentor role while simultaneously building seamless lines of communication between components.
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