Army Reserve medics support fellow Soldiers during Allied Spirit 22

By Sgt. Karen SampsonFebruary 3, 2022

USAR medics assist front-line and aid station during Allied Spirit '22
Sgt. Brandon Rupe, 2nd Platoon, 3rd Squad Leader from 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit, secures a building in MOUT site Ubensdorf Jan. 30, during Allied Spirit '22 at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany. Approximately 5,200 soldiers from 15 nations including Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States are participating in the exercising from Jan. 21 to Feb. 5, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Karen Sampson) (Photo Credit: Sgt. Karen Sampson) VIEW ORIGINAL

HOHENFELS, Germany — U.S. Army Reserve combat medics assigned to 444th Medical Company, Ground Ambulance Unit from Beaver, West Virginia, integrated with 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment OPFOR for real-world missions during multinational exercise Allied Spirit 22 in the Joint Multinational Readiness Center training area, Hohenfels, Germany, Jan. 21 through Feb. 5, 2022.

The answer to the nine-line for casualty evacuations, 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit combat medics typically work as a quick response, field litter ambulance team. For Allied Spirit 22, the Soldiers assist with patient care at the aid station and embed medics with platoon elements performing combat scenarios on the front-line of the fight.

"It's a different experience helping the 1-4 Infantry Regiment while they give multinational troops the training they need," said Pvt. 1st Class Corey Brown, 444th Med. Co. Ground Ambulance combat medic who during the exercise embeds with a platoon from Blackfoot Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment.

Training with Blackfoot Company is a break from the formal training received with the 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit, Brown said. "Most of my career, I am on an ambulance." The embedded medics travel with their platoons in M113 armored personnel carriers.

"It has helped my confidence being on the front-line with a small group of Soldiers," Brown said. "This mission gave me the chance to be the subject matter expert as a combat medic and know my specific role fitting into a platoon."

Brown values what this experience has taught him and shares his knowledge and combat lifesaving skills with the Soldiers of Blackfoot Company.

"I was able to provide some hip-pocket training," Brown said. "Most are CLS [combat lifesaver] qualified to a certain degree. I was able to teach more details about proper needle decompression and some other CLS skills."

USAR medics assist front-line and aid station during Allied Spirit '22
Maj. Jack Williams, commander 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit from Beaver, West Va., checks a Soldiers vitals Jan. 28, 2022, Hohenfels, Germany.. Exercise Allied Spirit '22 is at the 7th Army Training Command’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center utilizing the Hohenfels Training Area. Approximately 5,200 soldiers from 15 nations including Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States are participating in the exercising from Jan. 21 to Feb. 5 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jarrad Spinner) (Photo Credit: Sgt. Jarrad Spinner) VIEW ORIGINAL

Witnessing the U.S. military train with allied forces and partners is a phenomenal experience for the medics.

"I think it is great to see allied forces training and cooperating to reach common goals and achieve a mission," said Sgt. Brandon Rupe, 2nd Platoon, 3rd Squad Leader from 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit.

Rupe provides medical support during the exercise attached to a mortar platoon from Cherokee Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment.

"If anyone becomes a casualty in the training area, we are here to provide medical support," Rupe said. Depending on the injury, the medics send Soldiers to the battalion's aid station or a local German hospital near Hohenfels, Rupe said. Luckily, there have been no injuries to report thus far.

"It is an experience to see what it is like to be a medic with a platoon which is constantly mobile," said Spc. Nicholas Pritt, 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit combat medic.

The platoon patrolled some on foot during the scenario, protecting a town full of civilians from attack.

There is a difference between working with the field ambulance team and being a platoon's sole combat medic, added Pritt. "The significant difference is being the first point of contact to care for the casualty," he emphasized.

Pritt learned all these lessons attached to a mechanized platoon from Apache Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment.

USAR medics assist front-line and aid station during Allied Spirit '22
Combat Medical personnel from U.S. Army Reserve Unit 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit from Beaver, West Va., embed with 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment OPFOR (Opposing Forces) at Hohenfels, Germany Jan. 29, 2022. Exercise Allied Spirit '22 is at the 7th Army Training Command’s Joint Multinational Readiness Center utilizing the Hohenfels Training Area. Approximately 5,200 soldiers from 15 nations including Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States are participating in the exercising from Jan. 21 to Feb. 5, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Karen Sampson) (Photo Credit: Sgt. Karen Sampson) VIEW ORIGINAL

1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment and the 444th Med Company Ground Ambulance Unit collaboration for training exercises benefit both the reserve and active-duty Soldiers.

"The opportunity for these units to train and work together is fantastic," said Capt. Derrick Bouldin, commander of Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment. "An interesting asset of being a reserve unit is the Soldiers bring their life experience to the table."

Bouldin said that the 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit medics are health care professionals who work daily in the private sector and are Soldiers.

"In this reserve unit, there are intensive care unit nurses and paramedics, etc., whose relevant skills are put into practice over and over again," Bouldin said.

Bouldin said many Soldiers come to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment from their initial Advanced Individual Training for the Army. "We develop their training and skills here, but with exposure to other units, they have the opportunity to cross-train," Bouldin said.

More reserve medics from the 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit will return to Hohenfels in late February 2022, performing the same medical assist mission with the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment during K-FOR rotation training — a mobilization training for multinational forces deploying to Kosovo.

"For our reserve medics, participating in these exercises is a confidence builder when they see they perform at the level of their active-duty counterparts," said Maj. Jack Williams, commander of the 444th Medical Company Ground Ambulance Unit.

Exercise Allied Spirit 22 is a U.S. Army Europe and Africa driven exercise at the 7th Army Training Command's Joint Multinational Readiness Center utilizing the Hohenfels' Training Area.

Approximately 5,200 soldiers from 15 nations including Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Moldova, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States are joining forces and training together for this exercise.

For more photos, video and stories from the exercise go to the Allied Spirit feature page.

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