Croatian Army Soldiers observe US Army life-saving techniques

By Sgt. April BensonMarch 5, 2022

Croatian Army Soldiers observe US Army life-saving techniques
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – A Croatian Army medical instructor observes U.S. Soldiers in a Combat Lifesaver Course at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, European Medical Simulation Trauma Training Center, Feb. 11, 2022. Global Health Engagements enable Croatian and U.S. forces to coordinate mutual activities, maintain influence, and achieve interoperability in support of U.S. national security policy and military strategy. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army Sgt. April Benson) VIEW ORIGINAL
Croatian Army Soldiers observe US Army life-saving techniques
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Soldiers participate in a Combat Lifesaver Course at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, European Medical Simulation Trauma Training Center, Feb. 11, 2022. Global Health Engagements enable Croatian and U.S. armed forces to coordinate mutual activities, maintain influence, and achieve interoperability in support of U.S. national security policy and military strategy. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army Sgt. April Benson) VIEW ORIGINAL

LANDSTUHL, Germany — Medical Instructors with the Croatian Army observed U.S. Army Soldiers performing life-saving techniques during a Combat Lifesaver Course at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, in Landstuhl, Germany, Feb. 11, 2022.

The event was enabled via Global Health Engagement, a DoD effort aimed at expanding medical readiness and building relationships amongst U.S. warfighters and their Allies and Partners around the world.

“Our Croatian counterparts have been observing, experiencing firsthand, and learning how we teach the Combat Lifesaver Course to our Soldiers, so they can incorporate what they learn into their program,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Lamol Williams, a combat medic and instructor at LRMC.

During the course, instructors with the Croatian Armed Forces observed four-person teams providing Tactical Combat Casualty Care, also known as TCCC, in an immersive stress exercise.

Croatian Army Sgt. Sjeband Balog explained that the training conditions included smoke-filled rooms, simulated gunfire, and lifelike mannequins with blood substitutes.

“We perform similar training in Croatia, but we don’t have the same realistic resources as LRMC,” Balog said. “We want to go in the direction of making training more realistic. Coming here to observe the training helps us learn ways to incorporate these techniques and better understand working in a joint environment.”

Sharing medical knowledge through GHE familiarization engagements allows U.S. forces to coordinate mutual activities, maintain influence, and achieve interoperability in support of U.S. national security policy and military strategy.

“We should definitely do more engagements like this in the future,” Balog added. “It’s not about rank; anybody can be hurt, and everybody should be able to give first response and first-aid.”

Learn more about DoD's Global Health Engagement here: https://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/Global-Health-Engagement#:~:text=Global%20Health%20Engagement%20was%20codified,activities%2C%20maintain%20influence%2C%20and%20achieve

Learn more about Landstuhl Regional Medical Center here: https://landstuhl.tricare.mil/