Photo By Staff Sgt. Daniel Schroeder | Sgt. Karl Kostuch, Headquarters Support Company, Headquarters and Headquarters...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion recently conducted a combat first aid class during a field training exercise at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., Jan. 21.
The class focused on hemorrhage control for when Soldiers first encounter wounded on the battlefield.
Sgt. Jeremiah Berry, medical operations noncommissioned officer for Company B, HHB, I Corps, began the block of instruction with how to apply a hasty tourniquet.
“Often times when you are under fire, you don’t have the time to assess how bad a wound is,” Berry said. “In order to prevent bleeding out, a hasty tourniquet can be applied to stop the bleeding until the firing has stopped.”
He demonstrated the easiest way to stop the bleeding on an extremity by applying a tourniquet, either by the wounded or battle buddy, at the top of the limb and then focus on returning fire and getting out of the danger area.
The next area covered was how to evacuate the wounded to a safe area for transport. This consisted of a variety of carries and drags executed by one or two people.
“If you are under fire, you are going to start a drag keeping your body low as to not get injured yourself,” said Berry. “Some carries are useful when a bigger person has gone down at the top of some stairs when a drag will not work.”
Pfc. Juan Cabrera, a wheeled vehicle mechanic assigned to Headquarters Support Company, HHB, utilized a two-man drag on the open area extraction and a seated carry to move the casualty from the second floor down to the first during the hands-on exercise.
“This is the first time I have conducted this training in gear and using the stairs,” said Cabrera. “The gear made it more believable to how difficult it would be to move someone across an open space and down a flight of stairs.”
Berry then informed the Soldiers about other possible injuries they may encounter. He covered a collapsed lung injury, opening the airway, sealing an open chest wound and possible burns or other injuries.
Berry continued the class with how to treat an armpit and groin wound.
“When you notice that your battle buddy is wounded in the groin or armpit, a tourniquet will not work,” said Berry. “You would have to use the pressure dressing and wrap it around in a way that keeps pressure on the wound but will not come off easily. This is the first time I have incorporated this in the training because it is a common wound they might see.”
After demonstrating how to treat those wounds, Berry covered how to request aerial medical evacuation. Soldiers broke off into groups and practiced calling in the request.
“The thing I wanted to stress the most of this training was hemorrhage control,” Berry said. “Too many Soldiers lose their lives on the battlefield due to bleeding out from a wound that could have been stopped by a hasty tourniquet.”
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 01.27.2015 14:08 |
| Story ID: | 152858 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 29 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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