CAMP GUERNSEY, Wyo. - Eight soldiers in two groups of four walk across a field in formation. Each one is alert. Each one is focused on their mission.
“Contact, 12 o’clock,” yells Staff Sgt. Michael Flanders, their section chief.
The medics drop to the ground as shouts fill the air.
“Ahhh, my leg, help!” screams a soldier as he drops to the ground. He grabs his leg, simulating an injury.
Pfc. Ryan Czeczok, a medic with B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 300th Field Artillery runs to the wounded soldier while another soldier provides cover fire from the distance.
Czeczok drops to his knees. He checks the patient’s airway, breathing and circulation. He rapidly swipes his hands down the patient’s body looking for blood. It doesn’t take long for him to finish his initial rapid assessment.
“My leg hurts bad, doc,” shouts the casualty.
“Stay with me,” says Czeczok.
In the stress of the training environment Czeczok is calm and collected.
Soon he and another soldier are carefully, but quickly, moving the casualty to a protected location. When they’ve reached cover, Czeczok puts on rubber gloves, opens his aid bag and conducts a more thorough assessment.
He checks things like the patient’s abdominal cavity, respiration rate, radial pulse and responsiveness. He is focused and systematic, the entire time he’s calmly talking to his patient, and explaining each step along the way.
This is just a routine training exercise designed to help medics hone their skills during a recent drill weekend at Camp Guernsey Joint Training Center, but Czeczok doesn’t even seem to notice that it’s just training. He works with great care, just as if the situation were real.
“The unit tries to make the training stressful,” he tells me after the exercise.
“They put us on the spot. My biggest fear as a medic is getting out there and freezing up. My NCOs are going to make sure that doesn’t happen, because we practice and practice. That repetition builds muscle memory,” he concludes.
As Czeczok treats his patient, Flanders looks over his shoulder, evaluating and observing.
“It’s good to be out here,” Flanders says. “My soldiers are getting realistic training without having actual casualties.”
Czeczok continues his work, he looks at his watch and checks the patient’s pulse. He takes meticulous notes on a wind-torn piece of paper, it’s important information to pass on to the next level of treatment.
Soon he calls in a report for a medical evaluation and transports the patient to the landing zone but he continues to monitor his patient.
“You need to be one step ahead,” Capt. Jimmie Edwards, the 2-300 battalion physician assistant tells him. “Think of what could go wrong.”
Eventually the exercise ends and the group meets together to discuss what happened and what they can do better next time before regrouping to try again.
“It’s important for my soldiers to maintain their medical proficiency,” says Edwards. “Training needs to be realistic, we’re in our ready year.”
“Every year my soldiers need to be validated, which means that they pursue continuing medical education culminating at an event where their skills are evaluated by medical officers and NCOs,” he said.
For soldiers like Czeczok. the realistic training is not just essential but also kind of fun.
“I love being a medic,” he said. “There’s no other job I’d be happy with in the Army.”
| Date Taken: | 04.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.10.2015 13:11 |
| Story ID: | 159658 |
| Location: | CAMP GUERNSEY, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 130 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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