By Spc. Tegan Kucera
111th Public Affairs Detachment

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – A dozen Reserve Soldiers from Task Force Medical (TF MED) took time away from their normal Soldier training for a scheduled deployment to Kosovo this year to become CPR certified.

"I think it's a good thing to have everybody know how to perform CPR," said Spc. Donald Braa, a unit supply specialist with the 139th Medical Group from Liberty, Mo. "I think it's great that we were able to coordinate with a hospital that was close by, and it allowed us to refresh our skills and techniques on CPR."

Braa is one of the more than 50 Reserve Soldiers who are attached to the National Guard task force to help keep peace and security in the province of Kosovo for the next year.

For the first four weeks TF MED focused on sharpening their Soldier skills, and now they are refreshing their job skills.

For Braa this meant refreshing his CPR certificate which lapsed in the last few years. He said he was happy for the opportunity and thankful he had instructors who were so knowledgeable in the subject.

"I think it's great teaching Soldiers," said Beth Rice, the CPR coordinator for Saint Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis. "They provide a great service to our country. It's nice to teach them skills they can use in the field."

Rice said it is different teaching deploying Soldiers because they have a high chance of using the skills she teaches.

"I know I need to teach like lives depend on it because they do," she said.

This is the second class of Soldiers Rice has taught. She said another reason she likes teaching Soldiers is because she wants to give them the confidence to perform the skills if needed.

Training with civilians was an added bonus the task force Soldiers received. It also helped the trainers understand the Soldiers better.

"I think it gives us a better understanding of what everyone else does," said Capt. Kip Thompson, commander of the 14th Medical Detachment from Springfield, Mo.

"Learning CPR was a nice change from all the other training he's received and has shown him where his medical expertise comes in handy," Thompson said. "CPR is a good skill to have because you could one day save a buddy's life."

Connected Media