Division Marines tackle Combat Lifesaver Course

Photo By Sgt. Juan D. Alfonso | Pfc. David Thomas negotiates the Camp Courtney Obstacle Course Oct. 27 during a Combat Lifesaver Course designed to teach Marines how to treat wounded service members during combat.  

CAMP COURTNEY, JAPAN

10.27.2006

Story by Cpl. Juan D. Alfonso 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

by Lance Cpl. Juan D. Alfonso
III Marine Expeditionary Force PAO

CAMP COURTNEY, OKINAWA, Japan -- More than 51 Marines with Communications Company, Headquarters Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, completed a four-day Combat Lifesaver Course Oct. 27 on Camp Courtney.

The course, which is designed to teach Marines to effectively treat and evacuate wounded service members in combat situations, was part of a three-week training package designed to prepare them for possible deployments, according to 1st Lt. Christopher L. Witbracht, the platoon commander for the company's data platoon.

"Corpsmen go down too," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jamie L. Hammock, a hospital corpsman with Headquarters Bn. and the petty officer in charge of the course.

"The training is valuable because it trains Marines to fill that void if necessary, he said.

Communications Co. Marines are often assigned to Iraq-bound units, and the training is intended to prepare them for any situation they might face.

"As Marines we're constantly taught first aid," said Cpl. Sharif A. Fulcher, a multi-channel equipment operator. "But when our CO tells us we really need to grasp this stuff because it will save someone's life someday, we listen and we learn as much as we can."

During the course, Marines learned how to assess the condition of wounded service members as well as how to determine heart rate and blood pressure. Training also covered identifying and treating bleeding wounds, bone fractures, burns, and several complications caused by wounds typically incurred on the battlefield.

"This is just the next logical step in every Marine's training," said Cpl. Nicholas R. Becker, a digital multi-channel wideband transmission equipment operator.

"Learning to do what corpsmen do is difficult, but it's something we all need to know in combat."

One of these potentially difficult yet necessary skills is learning how to give fluids intravenously to casualties.

Hammock said knowing how to properly give an IV makes these Marines much more valuable after a conflict has ended and casualties require more medical care than the corpsmen can handle.

"I've been through a lot of medical training since I joined the Marine Corps, but giving someone an IV is definitely something I've never done," said Master Sgt. Lonny N. Meno, the company operations chief. "Any time Marines are given the opportunity to receive new training, they should jump on it. You can never be too prepared for combat."

To become certified combat lifesavers, the Marines had to successfully navigate an obstacle course to reach a simulated casualty, who the students had to assess. They had to treat life threatening injuries, determine whether the casualty required immediate evacuation and carry the simulated victim to a designated location.

"It was hard enough (assessing the victim) after running through the course, I can only imagine what it must be like in Iraq," said Lance Cpl. Shelly Perry, an automotive organizational mechanic.

Sgt. William D. Tokiwa, an electronic maintenance technician, said the best lesson many of his Marines learned was that a corpsman's job is harder than what they believed it to be.

"For what this course is and the limited time they were given, the Marines did a great job," said Seaman Marie Fagan, a hospital corpsman and course instructor with Headquarters Battalion.

She is confident in all of the attendees' abilities to contribute life-saving skills on the battlefield, she said.

• Date Taken: 10.27.2006
• Date Posted: 11.06.2006 10:48
• Story ID: 8211
• Location: CAMP COURTNEY, JP