47th Combat Support Hospital broadens capabilities

Photo By Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke | Lt. Col. Kevin W. Nemelka, a member of the 47th Combat Support Hospital, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., tours the 399th CSH, while serving as the commander of the 47th Multifunctional Medical Battalion during Combat Support Training Exercise 91 15-01 at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., March 7, 2015. The CSTX provided integrated training for over 900 active and Reserve component medical troops. (Photo by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke, 19th Public Affairs Detachment)  

FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, UNITED STATES

03.07.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Micah VanDyke 

19th Public Affairs Detachment

FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. - Soldiers from the 47th Combat Support Hospital took on a different, non-patient focused role during their training at the Combat Support Training Exercise at Fort Hunter Liggett from Feb. 21- March 13.

The 47th CSH, based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., acted as a Multifunctional Medical Battalion and worked directly with the Joint Task Force-Medical team, a team of Reserve medical personnel in charge of health service support and force health protection.

“This provided an opportunity for some of us to step away from our current positions and provide mission command to active, Reserve and international forces, which will better prepare us to work with those forces in the future,” said Lt. Col. Kevin W. Nemelka, the commander of the 47th MMB command team.

During the CSTX, active duty medical troops trained alongside colleges from the Army Reserve, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force, as well as medical colleges from the Canadian Army.

“JTF-Medical did a great job of putting together the exercise and challenging the units to perform their duties. It’s always a pleasure to work alongside our peers. We get to observe how other services and allies operate,” said Nemelka.

Staff Sgt. Brandon Hutson, a new member of the 47th CSH, said he learned a great deal about mission planning and the command relationship between units while at the CSTX.

“As a noncommissioned officer, I now have understanding of the bigger picture beyond my small role and how every unit is working together for the [overall] mission,” said Hutson. “We’re the middle person between the units on ground and the higher headquarters with communications and supplies.”

Working as the MMB, the 47th CSH gained experience that they can apply toward future training exercises or a real-world missions.

“This exercise allowed us to train in an environment where we can share our tactics, techniques and procedures to improve our abilities as a team to provide force health protection and health service support to unified land operations,” said Nemelka.

• Date Taken: 03.07.2015
• Date Posted: 03.20.2015 14:14
• Story ID: 157663
• Location: FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US