Caesar brings reality to the Combat Life Saver Course

Photo By Sgt. Heather Feenaughty | Spc. Alexander Shiangbor, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment and Pvt. Weston Dupree, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, treat Caesar, a training dummy, for an open chest wound as part of the Combat Life Saver course here, May 22. Caesar’s technology portrays realistic injuries, such as difficulty breathing, to allow soldiers to train in a more realistic combat environment. (U.S. Photo by Sgt. Heather Feenaughty, 4th Public Affairs Detachment)  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

05.22.2014

Story by Sgt. Heather Feenaughty 

4th Public Affairs Detachment

FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers extract Caesar from a disabled armored vehicle and determine he needs medical help. Blood is pumping from his severed right leg. A Combat Life Saver puts pressure on the femoral artery and stops the bleeding long enough to place a tourniquet. Caesar is complaining of chest pain. The irregular rising and falling of the left side of his chest indicates he has a collapsed lung. The CLS performs a needle-chest decompression. After treatment, Caesar’s health begins to improve.

Instead of training on the usual hard plastic mannequins, Soldiers at the Fort Hood CLS Course trained with Caesar, a patient simulator designed by CAE Healthcare, during their training May 19 to the 22.

Caesar isn’t your typical medical dummy. He is designed to withstand the demands of Army training and is remote controlled to demonstrate multiple injuries.

“It’s top-of-the-line as far as interactive mannequins go; we can remotely control and get data,” said Maj. Walter Engle, a physician’s assistant with Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. “As a Soldier applies aid, it displays on the remote screen and the evaluator can simulate injuries based on vital signs and what you do.”

At 150 pounds, everything about Caesar, from his head to the pulse in his feet, is designed to be as real as possible. His pupils can change size to show head injury, his chest rises and falls with each breath and he has a pulse. He can even speak to express his distress.

“The challenge is when medics are not able to practice on live patients, how do they get the skill-sets in order to be proficient on the battlefield?” asked John Rodgers, CAE Healthcare U.S. government military account manager.

Caesar is built to receive interventions such as a regular IV, tourniquet and needle-chest decompression, among several other medical procedures. His body also reacts to the interventions by actions such as breathing easier or voicing his relief.

“If [Soldiers] have never been exposed to combat injuries, they may be overcome with fear in real life situations,” Rodgers said. “[Using Caesar] can put Soldiers in a training environment where they manage the types of wounds sustained in combat, and that not only helps save lives, but also limbs.”

Caesar has been training with the Army for the past year, but this is his first visit to Fort Hood. He will continue to visit other active Army and National Guard training sites throughout the United States.

• Date Taken: 05.22.2014
• Date Posted: 06.02.2014 15:57
• Story ID: 131842
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US
• Hometown: ATLANTA, GA, US