Naval Hospital Conducts Casualty Evacuation Training

Photo By Michael Cole | Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune partnered with members of II Medical Battalion and the Black Knights of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 264 for a combined trauma/en route care training exercise May 24, 2017. Combined casualty evacuation training encompassing emergency medical teams, en route care teams and flight crews is an essential part of sustaining a ready medical force. (Official U.S. Navy photo by Michael Cole/Released)  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

05.24.2017

Story by Michael Cole 

Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC — Emergency medical staff from Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune today partnered with medical staff from 2nd Medical Battalion, and the Black Knights of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron Two Six Four (VMM-264) to conduct en route care sustainment training. En route care teams, a unique capability, to the medical battalion is a team comprised of a critical care nurse or emergency room nurse and a Flight Medic trained Hospital Corpsman.
The integrated training exercise was designed to test Naval Hospital Camp Lejuene and 2nd Medical Battalion medical personnel in providing critical care from forward resuscitative surgical capabilities to higher levels of medical care. “Close coordination between the three critical elements; the en route care team, the air assets, and the receiving military treatment facility is crucial to rapid evacuation of critical patients to higher levels of care,” remarked Lt. Cmdr. David McDonald, naval hospital’s Trauma Program Manager.
Utilizing combat casualty simulators from the hospital’s SimLab, McDonald explained the importance of maximizing training opportunities for all the units aboard Camp Lejeune so that there is always a ready medical force to surge forward should the call come. Coordinated training exercises like this provides an opportunity to flex communication channels, provide a dynamic training environment and to create scenarios unique to combat casualty care.
“Bringing together air assets, combat medical teams and military treatment facilities in a comprehensive training evolution is how we stay ready to fight,” said Lt. Cmdr. Danilo Garciaduenas, 2d Medical Battalion Training Officer. “We are one fighting force and must remain ready as one fighting force.”
“Marine Corps flight crews must be ready to fulfill every possible flight mission for our fighting forces on the ground and CasEvac (casualty evacuation), saving the lives of our wounded warriors, is a mission that stands above all others,” explained Maj. Paul Herrera, VMM-264’s Operations Officer. “Training with our medical teams at 2d Medical Battalion and those of the naval hospital, gives our flight crews a different perspective, and a better understanding of the unique requirements associated with evacuating the wounded.”
Survival rates for combat wounded in Vietnam are widely reported to have been about 75 percent. The survival rate for combat wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan has surpassed 90 percent, in large part due to forward resuscitation capabilities, swift medical evacuation, and improved sustainment training evolutions such as this event.
“It’s not often we get to land our Osprey’s on the hospital’s helo-pad. Having this experience, could save a life here at Camp Lejeune should we ever have to CasEvac a Marine during a training evolution,” Herrera commented. “The benefits of this training are tangible today.”
Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune conducts various other training evolutions as they provide primary medical care for their nearly 170,000 eligible beneficiaries. One such training evolution is Tactical Combat Casualty Care, which is a requirement for every deployable Hospital Corpsman. Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune has met the Navy Surgeon General’s requirement of 100 percent TCCC trained Corpsman in March 2017. The hospital also trains in coordination with the base, local and state emergency response teams for emergency preparedness to in include mass casualties.
Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune offers integrated, aligned and unprecedented medical support for the 60,000 Marines and Sailors of II Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Special Operations Command, as well as the 170,000 eligible family members and veterans, in the Eastern North Carolina area. Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune has undergone a transformation over the last several years adding new services, expanding other areas and bringing aboard key new staff that enables the hospital to provide quality care to the warfighter, their families and veterans.

• Date Taken: 05.24.2017
• Date Posted: 05.24.2017 16:08
• Story ID: 235132
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US