Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Samuel Northrup | Staff Sgt. James Benozich (left), a medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop,...... read more read more
RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, South Korea - Adrenaline coursed through his veins. Gunfire could still be heard the background but the medic knew he had to remain focused. There was a casualty on the ground that needed immediate care. The medic applied pressure with his knee to the casualty’s artery and put a tourniquet high on the leg.
The medic continued to search the casualty, finding a chest wound. He moved earnestly; he knew any medical technique wrongfully applied could be fatal.
This was a scenario Staff Sgt. James Benozich, a medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 4th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, had to complete Feb. 24, at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex, for his trauma lane validation, which is part of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians certification.
“The NREMT is what the Army uses to ensure, as medics, we are within regulation to treat Soldiers, civilians, and dependents in a real-world combat situation or garrison environment,” said Staff Sgt. Rellie Lorenzo, an instructor with 8th Army, Medical Simulation Training Center, Surgeon Section. “This is a civilian certification, so we are EMT certified. ”
“We start from scratch so when students come in here I tell them to be a sponge and absorb all the information we give them,” said Lorenzo. “We have qualified and knowledgeable instructors who have been in the medical field for two to three decades, so there is plenty of knowledge to be passed on.”
At the MSTC, students go through a classes covering TC3 heavily, which is care under fire, tactical field care, and casualty evacuation, Lorenzo said. Subjects include what duties medics perform in hospital as well as combat settings. Medics are combat medics and health care specialists who are able to perform in field training exercises, combat deployments, but also in aid stations and hospitals.
The biennial certification is required for all medics to stay qualified within their military occupational specialty, said Benozich. The MSTC usually has about 30 students per class and ranks can vary from private to sergeant first class.
“The skills we have to maintain are perishable, that is why at a minimum once a year medics should try to keep up with their skills,” Lorenzo said. “That helps ensure they are getting the fundamentals and are getting what is trending in the medical field.”
Students are learning not just new techniques, but also new equipment that is now available, Benozich said. For example, instead of using powder from a bag, the new generation of QuikClot is built into the gauze and there are newer chest seals that have come out. If medics are not getting this training, they will miss seeing some of the new developments such as the combat ready clamp.
“This training is mandatory, and it is essential and at the same time there are a lot of medics in foreign militaries who don’t get the training we have,” Lorenzo said. “… With the U.S. Army, we are told to get this training done on a regular basis, and I think that is a good thing. You want to keep the wheels moving and you want to keep that positive momentum, which is key to good training and saving your battle buddies.”
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2015 03:33 |
| Story ID: | 155759 |
| Location: | RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, KR |
| Web Views: | 146 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Medics recertify to stay MOS qualified, by SFC Samuel Northrup, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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