Former Special Forces medic trains troops to survive combat

Courtesy Photo | Brent Cloud gives advice to troops working to save a fellow Soldier's life. He has trained more than 10,000 troops heading up north to Iraq and Afghanistan, so they can learn crucial life-saving techniques. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Sarah Scully)  

04.13.2007

Courtesy Story

40th Public Affairs Detachment

By Sgt. Sarah Scully
40th Public Affairs Detachment

KUWAIT - Next to the big, red medic cross are the words, "This class rocks."

Those are the first things Soldiers see as they head into the building to learn techniques that might save their lives and the lives of their buddies.

Standing there with unkempt black hair escaping out of his Special Forces medic cap and wearing a shirt covered with marlin fish, Brent Cloud's blue eyes notice everything.

He's trained more than 10,000 service members and civilians – mostly Soldiers – since he first set up shop at Camp Buehring's Training Village a year ago, supporting Third Army/U.S. Army Central in Kuwait.

That's 10 times more than his supervisors expected him to teach.

Instead of spending his retirement fishing for marlins, Cloud decided to come overseas after retiring from 5th Special Forces Group and share his experience and knowledge with young Soldiers heading into combat.

Starting out with 30 Soldiers in one class, it didn't take long for the Alpha male with a driven work ethic, high intellect and extreme multi-tasking skills to get bored. So, he started teaching more classes and encouraging regular Soldiers – not just combat medics – to take the class.

"They're going to be placed in the worst possible place a lot of people have never been," said Cloud. "I've been there."

Deployed more than 50 times to at least 27 countries, Cloud has the credibility and common sense approach to healing that Soldiers need to experience before faced with the realities of war.

Most importantly, his students immediately leap the first big hurdle of any Army training: boredom.

Walking into a large open room with swirls of dried fake blood and mannequins in varying forms of distress on the floor, they soon gaze upward in disbelief.

There's writing on the ceiling. On an Army-sanctioned white ceiling.

It's Cloud's sign-in roster.

On the walls and ceiling are notes and signatures from thousands of students.

And the first person to sign it: Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston. After giving the official authorization, it became a rite of passage to go through Cloud's class and sign the walls.

"I would give his class a 10," said Spc. David Mayers, a chemical Soldier from San Jacinto, Calif., who took the class right before heading up north to Kirkuk, Iraq.

"I was never bored," said Mayers, a 36-year-old Reservist. "This training is really hands on, and the way he explained it was reassuring that we could do the job without any difficulties."

With blood spurting out of a mannequin gazing upward toward the Soldiers trying to save its life, the troops worked in teams to stop the bleeding and employ the life-saving techniques taught by Cloud.

"For a lot of people (in combat) it's too much to handle," said Cloud. "I'm hoping to give them that one small thing to help save their buddies' lives.

"Expect the worst, plan for the worst and hope for the best."

His supervisors are certainly planning for the best – in the next few weeks, Cloud and his class will move into a building twice as large as his current facility.

Employing another former Special Forces medic, the two instructors will teach one of the most requested classes at Camp Buehring – a necessary stop for Soldiers heading into Iraq and Afghanistan.

But he will have to say goodbye to the walls and to Preston's signature.

Only now, he will have twice as much room for Soldiers to leave a note marking their place.

"I want the kids to feel comfortable here," said Cloud.

"All I'm doing is showing guys how to save people's lives."

• Date Taken: 04.13.2007
• Date Posted: 04.13.2007 15:51
• Story ID: 9910