Combining Training, Increasing Muscle Memory

Photo By Liesl Marelli | Spc. Ben Harbour of Vancouver, Wash., Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army National Guard, 115th Fires Brigade, pulls security while his buddies administer buddy-aid on one of their team members who was identified as a casualty during Close Quarter Combat training at Fort Hood, Texas, May 21. Security is an essential force protection measure, which allows other members of the team to safely perform life-saving buddy aid on the battlefield. The training provided here by the 120th Infantry Brigade ensures the Fires Brigade redeploys safely after their year-long deployment to Iraq and Kuwait.  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

05.21.2009

Story by Staff Sgt. Liesl Marelli 

3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery

FORT HOOD, Texas - Deploying Colorado Guardsmen continued building upon their foundation of Close Quarter Combat training at Fort Hood, Texas, May 21.

The Soldiers, who are assigned to 1st Platoon, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery, Colorado Army National Guard, 115th Fires Brigade, incorporated their medic platoon in the training to help simulate how to treat a casualty while also trying to clear a room or a house.

Using a basic floor plan outlined on the ground, known as a "glass house," the Soldiers, in small teams, practiced clearing rooms and hallways. At the discretion of the 1st platoon sergeant and the medic platoon sergeant, they would call out to the team a scenario such as, "Third man was hit. Lower leg injury."

With that, the Soldiers determined a security plan and performed buddy aid.

The pressure didn't let up. If the Soldiers didn't react properly and quickly enough, the platoon sergeants would add to the pressure.

"What are you going to do now? Where's your call to higher? Who is pulling security?" they shouted at the teams.

"I learned a lot I didn't know from the classes on what to do if we [have] a casualty under fire, what to do if we [have] casualty while clearing a building, and the proper procedures for clearing the building using the [techniques from] the CQC range," said Spc. Sean Dolan of Colorado Springs, Colo.

The platoon trained recently on the Fort Hood CQC range and decided to continue training on their own to both enhance their knowledge and practice building their muscle memory.

The [concept of] muscle memory consists of many tasks such as muzzle awareness, team-building for small teams to clear rooms and how to conduct buddy aid when their adrenaline is pumping and time is ticking quickly.

I wanted to give [our] certified Combat Lifesavers the opportunity for additional experience, said Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Byerly of Johnstown, Colo.

With the help of the Medic Platoon, the Soldiers practiced applying tourniquets, safely moving a casualty and how to administer an IV in the field.

Colorado's 3rd Battalion, 157th Field Artillery is deploying to Iraq this summer at the culmination of their mobilization training at Fort Hood. The battalion is assigned to the 115th Fires Brigade, which consists of more than 2,000 personnel from Wyoming, Colorado, Alabama, South Dakota and Minnesota. For many of these states, the deployment is the largest ever of their respective Army National Guard units.

• Date Taken: 05.21.2009
• Date Posted: 06.06.2009 12:46
• Story ID: 34646
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US