From classroom to frontline, Ohio medics keep their cool at JRTC

FORT POLK, La. -- Ohio Army National Guard Pfc. Evan Warner just finished cleaning up after putting in another IV with saline solution into a Soldier's arm who was dehydrating in the constant triple-digit heat index here at the Joint Rotational Training Center in Fort Polk, La. Monday, July 18, 2016.

That was his eighth heat injury in just two days… it was only 10 a.m… and this was his first major training with the unit. But, he was already prepared for the next injury.

Warner, a combat medic attached to the 812th Engineer Co., based in Wooster, Ohio, puts his military medical training and civilian experience as an emergency medical technician (EMT) into action caring for his Soldiers in the field.

From July 9-30, 2016, more than 5,000 Soldiers from other state Army National Guard units, active Army and Army Reserve troops arrived at Fort Polk as part of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team task force. The training provides Soldiers with the opportunity to practice integrating combat operations ranging from infantry troops engaging in close combat with the enemy to artillery and air strikes.

Warner, a Lancaster native who enlisted in the Ohio National Guard as a health care specialist (combat medic) right after high school, credits his Army medical training with helping him land a civilian job as an EMT and also being accepted into Wright State University to start a nursing degree.

"I've always loved medicine and wanted join the military, so I just put them together" said Warner. "The National Guard training helped me reach my goals."

In just a year and a half with the Guard, Warner has spent most of that time in the classroom setting. He's never had a two-week annual training with this unit or anything longer than a weekend drill. This three-week training at JRTC has given him a chance to not only use, but also add to, his initial training.

"Army school was great, but they weren't able to prepare us for how it would be in a deployed environment with our units," said Warner.

Ohio Army National Guard Capt. Chris Brandt, the 812th Engineering Company commander, from Kettering, agreed that you couldn't replicate this type and intensity of training anywhere else.

"Our medics are getting excellent, real-world training out here," said Brandt. "This level of training is above what you can normally achieve during drill weekends or on a field training exercise."

Warner noted that being able to see how the Soldiers move and react during their missions helps him anticipate where he needs to be, and being around the vehicles helps him gain a comfort level working around them.

"This type of training opportunity lets me acclimate to the different types of vehicles I'll be working in and around, and to understand how to move with the unit," said Warner. ""They blow it up, I fix it up -- we need to know how each other operates!"

While he's treating both notional injuries from the training scenario and real world injuries from the intensity of the environment, it's the heat that is causing the most difficulty. Warner gives his Soldiers, and anyone within earshot who will listen, sound advice to keep them cool and far from his care.

"There are three key things to beating the heat: sleep, hydration, electrolytes. If you're not doing these things, then you're going down," explained Warner.

But, no one has gone down on his watch. As a matter of fact, he's been able to treat, release and get every heat related injury under his care back into the fight within a short amount of time.

"He's taking all the precautionary measures he can and staying ahead of the curve to combat heat injuries," said Brant. "We can't do anything to prevent indirect fire or combat wounds, but he's doing what he can to keep our Soldiers cool and in the fight."

From classroom to frontline, Ohio medics keep their cool at JRTC

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From classroom to frontline, Ohio medics keep their cool at JRTC

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