Anyone who has spent even one summer in the Palmetto State know how incredibly hot it gets and how tempting it is to stay inside, at least if you have air conditioning. However for the Army, training must press on, and that means everyone must be prepared.
Every year, Fort Jackson’s Directorate of Emergency Services conducts heat casualty drills to ensure emergency medical services are able to respond to any incident that may occur during hot weather.
On the morning of April 28, Soldier Support Institute tested their own preparedness for an occurrence at one of their training sites.
“The SSI commander has asked the schools in SSI to validate their emergency responses for their particular training sites,” said Vanita Fiedler, Safety and Occupational Health Manager for SSI. “This is the Noncommissioned Officer Academy’s physical training site so it’s a good opportunity for us to piggy back off of what Fort Jackson has already had planned to validate our EMS responses and our emergency plans for any injuries.”
At 6:30 a.m. 1st Sgt. David Little, NCOA, made the call, ““Exercise, Exercise, Exercise, Heat Stroke casualty at Lee Road and Hampton Parkway Water Tower PT Track”.
Little and Sgt. 1st Class Maria Hernandez, SSI, waited as EMS responded and navigated their way to the notional casualty.
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