Personnel from the Regimental Support Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment played an important role in the U.S. Army Europe Expert Field Medical Badge assessment, which began on March 8 and concluded on April 5.
The coveted EFMB drew Soldiers of various ranks and countries to the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. Eleven Soldiers from the RSS, 2CR supported the event.
These Soldiers developed and ran Combat Testing Lane 3. CTL3, which tested candidates' knowledge of casualty evacuation procedures, consisted of eight tasks. These tasks included removing a simulated casualty with an injured spine from a destroyed vehicle, carrying a litter and dummy over a span of uneven terrain as part of a 3-Soldier team and loading more dummy casualties onto the M1133 Medical Evacuation Vehicle.
Those personnel who built the lane had to learn and rehearse scripted scenarios that they would later present to candidates during testing. They practiced efficiently setting up the stations along the lane in order to prepare for timely resets of equipment between iterations. Many of the individuals who built the lane, and even some of the evaluators, learned for the first time about the medical equipment that would be utilized.
"A lot of our Soldiers with no prior medical experience had a lot to learn in a short amount of time to be able to support EFMB," said Spc. Andrew Hansen, medic, Charlie Troop, RSS, 2CR. "It wasn't easy for them, but they were able to learn quickly."
Once the lane and its stations were constructed, the EFMB board inspected and validated the scenarios to ensure that they comprehensively assessed the skills that were to be tested.
Five RSS Soldiers served as evaluators for candidates on CTL3, which required them to become subject matter experts on casualty evacuations tasks. Evaluators conducted multiple run-throughs of the lane prior to testing to ensure that their grading of candidates was standardized. During the event, they also facilitated study sessions covering evacuation procedures for the candidates.
Evaluators from RSS ultimately tested fifteen EFMB candidates. Personnel who assisted in developing the lane credit RSS's meticulous efforts, both in building and sustaining the various stations, for creating a difficult, but rewarding assessment for candidates.
"Obtaining, transporting and using the equipment involved in EFMB opened my eyes to how important the RSS was in making this event successful," said Sgt. Rodney Poole, intelligence non-commissioned officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, RSS, 2CR.
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