NOVO SELO, Bulgaria -- 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard led a Combat Lifesaver Course during Operation Resolute Castle, August 18 to August 21, 2016.
Staff Sgt. Long, a medic at HHC 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard, instructed the Combat Lifesaver Course. The training included classroom and field training. This course grants a Combat Life Saver or CLS certification once it is completed.
The 194th Engineer Brigade, Tennessee Army National Guard, spearheads Resolute Castle. Resolute Castle is a part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, a U.S. led effort to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and dedication to enduring peace and stability in the region. Locations for Resolute Castle include Romania, Bulgaria, Estonia, and Hungary. Resolute Castle works to improve military infrastructure in Eastern European allied and partner nations.
During Resolute Castle, 194th Engineer Brigade led a Combat Lifesaver Course to certify and educate Soldiers to handle a medical emergency when vehicle or hospital access is not immediately available. The course trains Soldiers to quickly evaluate a casualty, manage airways, control bleeding, and request a medical evacuation. A Combat Lifesaver is a non-medical Soldier who has the training to treat and stabilize injuries in combat and non-combat situations.
"Combat lifesaving is your secondary mission, not your primary. You must fulfill your combat mission duty first in order to secure you and your subordinates' safety and possibly even lives," stressed Staff Sgt. Long, discussing how to properly give care even while under enemy fire. The Combat Lifesaver Course offered examples of when to render emergency medical treatment and when not to.
Long used scenarios to give the Soldiers an idea of when to use each skill attained through the course. Long emphasized the importance of controlling bleeding. Blood loss is one of leading causes of death in combat injuries. The Combat Lifesaver Course teaches soldiers to properly secure a tourniquet around a lost or severely injured extremity, dress a penetrating chest injury, and manage obstructed airways with a catheter and needle.
The course also gives instruction on tactical casualty movements and transporting casualties with litters. Spc. Staci Evbuomwan, a medic with the 230th Engineer Battalion, Tennessee Army National Guard demonstrated how to improvise when formal medical evacuation equipment is not available. She taught soldiers how to create a litter with two uniform tops as well as with blankets.
Evbuomwan trained her students to expect everything. She informed them that they may not always have what they need, so they need to be to improvise.
Spc. Gary Hughes, from the 253rd Military Police Company, Tennessee Army National Guard, was an enthusiastic participant of the course.
"I'm glad I took this course. It gave me more knowledge than my initial CLS class. Since it was more hands-on, I'll be able to use what I learn in an emergency to take care of our subordinates," said Hughes.
Both Hughes and Pfc. Jeffrey Miles expressed positive opinions on the CLS Course, explaining how useful it could be in a number of military police situations.
Miles declared, "If an emergency happened where I could save someone's life, I believe I would be comfortable using what I learned during CLS."
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