Army Reserve Soldiers practice lethal warrior medical tasks

Photo By Spc. Taylor Smith | Soliders from the 399th Combat Support Hospital, 804th Medical Brigade, 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support), practice clearing an airway at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, March 20, 2018. Soldiers are required to certify on individual lethal warrior tasks to demonstrate combat readiness prior to the Combat Support Training Exercise 18-03 held March 21-26, 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Taylor Smith)  

FORT MCCOY, WI, UNITED STATES

03.20.2018

Courtesy Story

319th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Story by Pfc. Taylor Smith
319th MPAD

FORT McCOY, Wis. - Dead grass crunches on the frozen ground as Spc. Melissa Bonilla-Sanchez, a respiratory therapist with the 399th Combat Support Hospital, 804th Medical Brigade, 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support), based in Massachusetts, kneels to insert a nasopharyngeal airway, NPA, into the nose of a mannequin near Improved Tactical Training Base Liberty, March 20, 2018.The 399th is a Ready Force X, or RFX, unit. According to Lt. Gen. Charles D. Luckey, Chief of Army Reserve and Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command. combat-readiness, lethality, and capability are the top priorities of all Army Reserve units.

According to the U.S. Army Reserve RFX webpage, Luckey emphasizes America’s Army Reserve will generate these priorities because the American people expect it.

Bonilla-Sanchez and her fellow Soldiers learned lethal warrior medical tasks during Combat Support Training Exercise 18-03. Soldiers use NPAs to keep the airways of unconscious patients open. Inserting an NPA isn’t the only task that Bonilla-Sanchez learned. She also learned how to perform first aid for bleeding extremities and burns in combat situations.

“In my civilian medical environment, I don’t have to worry about getting shot,” Bonilla-Sanchez explained, referencing her normal duties in a hospital. “This training is making me cognizant that I need to move fast and with a purpose, and manage my weapon at the same time.”

Although Bonilla-Sanchez is very experienced in the medical field as a respiratory therapist, training for a harsh environment in a deployment zone brings its own challenges, she said. The training helps her perform life-saving first aid without over-thinking or panicking.

The intent for RFX is to have boots on the ground as soon as possible, said 1st Lt. Jonathan Alicea, who is also assigned to the 399th. “This training reinforces what Soldiers learned in boot camp and will prepare them for mobilization.”

• Date Taken: 03.20.2018
• Date Posted: 03.24.2018 23:10
• Story ID: 270515
• Location: FORT MCCOY, WI, US