Photo By Douglas Stutz | Face-to-Face with an earful... Navy Reserve Navy Medicine Education and Training...... read more read more
There was a series of firsts achieved by Navy Medicine’s Operational Health Support Unit (OHSU) Bremerton during the joint exercise Rainier Med II 2018 held for two weeks in June this year.
According to Capt. Frank Brajevic, OHSU Bremerton commanding officer - along with Expeditionary Medical Facilities Camp Pendleton, Dallas, and Great Lakes, and NRNMETC - the Bremerton detachment became the initial OHSU to participate in a Navy and Air Force joint exercise, as well as provide training in Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and Hospital Corpsman Skills Basic (HMSB) to their Air Force host, the 446th Aeromedical Squadron based at Joint Base Lewis McCord.
“The command was proactive in seeking new training platforms and partnerships to increase individual and command readiness,’ stated Brajevic.
Naval Hospital Bremerton supported the exercise by releasing 70 reservists from their usual annual active duty for training requirements to participate in Rainier Med II and provided equipment and public affairs coverage in support of the exercise.
“This was a tremendous opportunity to build partnerships, support training in joint environment, and is aligned with the Surgeon General’s strategic objectives for enhancing readiness and partnerships,” commented Capt. Jeffrey Bitterman, Naval Hospital Bremerton commanding officer.
There was another unintentional first associated with the TCCC potion of the joint exercise. The Air Force officer and enlisted personnel undertaking the course found themselves face-to-face, getting an earful, of very vocal tutelage from Navy Reserve Navy Medicine Education and Training Command (NRNMETC) instructors.
“Although there’s no real way to simulate for real out here, we do try and make this training as real as we can by putting a lot of pressure on them. Many of them know what to do once a patient gets to them in an aircraft, but we are teaching them what to do on the ground before that stage. Plus, when’s the last time any of us TCCC instructors got to yell at a colonel?” exclaimed Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jeff Bruderer, TCCC instructor.
There were approximately 100 members of 446th Aeromedical Squadron who went through the training that provided them - and OHSU Sailors - with the necessary techniques, abilities and knowledge to conduct rapid emergency medical support and evacuation during a simulated combat environment.
When Lt. Cmdr. Roman Cruz, OHSU Bremerton nurse, noticed the Air Force personnel gearing up for TCCC, he knew what they were going to experience.
Once in the field portion of the training, they were going to get yelled at.
A lot.
“When they start the actual outdoor part of TCCC, they will probably be really tested and evaluated like never before. They will get to apply the didactic portion to the actual field exercise where they will be constantly evaluated and deliberately put under a lot of stress (to save lives). And it will be loud. That’s what the instructors do,” said Cruz.
The students were taught prehospital trauma care in a tactical combat setting, trained in evidence-based tactical life-saving techniques and strategies, and then given a hands-on opportunity to practice what they learned.
The TCCC instructors showed no mercy to their students and demanded rapid response, prompt assessments, and precise applications from the students. Indecision, unease or procrastination were hurdles that had to be cleared. There were lives to save. Every second counted.
The students were tested in handling such emergency medical concerns as primary and secondary patient assessment, administering CPR, shock recognition, spinal stabilization, airway emergency, hemorrhage control, chest needle decompression, applying splinting and pressure dressings. They also were tasked with dragging a simulation mannequin of equal weight a lengthy distance over uneven terrain.
The TCCC focus was to provide a detailed hand-on experience on what it takes to care for a wounded patient from the field through all levels of care. The joint environment tested their capabilities not only from point of injury on the battlefield, but on through successive echelons of care including various aircraft – fixed wing and helicopter - and 10-bed and 50-bed facilities.
Other training conducted during the time included security training with basic M-16 introduction and basic weapon handling, caring, cleaning and maintenance; along with HMSB teaching how to perform a rapid and detailed patient exam, basic medication administration, IV flow rate(s), hemorrhage and bleeding control, and vein puncture for blood draw and IV insertion. Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high yield Explosives (CBRNE) course objectives focused on donning and doffing protective gear and improving understanding and confidence in the gear, as well as understanding threat types and responses. Overall, 153 TCCC and 37 HMSB certificates were earned.
The Navy components participating in Rainier Med II Exercise were OHSU Bremerton Headquarters staff and Detachments C, D, F, I, K, L, N, O, Virtual Detachment, and Expeditionary Medical Facilities Camp Pendleton, Dallas, and Great Lakes, and NRNMETC. The Air Force units involved included medics from the 446th Airlift wing and 624th Aeromedical Staging Squadron.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2018 12:11 |
| Story ID: | 289482 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCORD , WA, US |
| Web Views: | 276 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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