The Best of AMEDD Center and School Compete in the Army Best Medic Competition

SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES

09.10.2018

Story by Tish Williamson 

U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence

SFC David Nagle, an instructor in the Military Professional Training Brigade, and SFC Adam Church, an instructor in the 32nd Medical Brigade will represent the U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School (AMEDDC&S), Health Readiness Center of Excellence (HRCoE) during the 2018 Army Best Medic Competition (ABMC). Hosted annually by the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) at Camp Bullis, this year’s ABMC is scheduled from 16-20 September.

Nagle has served as a drill instructor in the 188th Medical Battalion since October 2017. He is military occupational specialty (MOS) 68W, Army Health Care Specialist, or combat medic, who has deployed once in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, once in support of Operation New Dawn and completed a tour in Korea. Nagle, who also represented Regional Health Command Pacific at the 2016 ABMC said, “I am always seeking out challenges that are medically oriented to keep my skills sharp while I am not deployed or currently in a line unit.”

Nagle, and his teammate Church, were the top two performers during the May 2018 AMEDDC&S HRCoE version of the Best Medic Competition. During that local event, Soldiers contended over a grueling 96 hours with other accomplished medics, to qualify for the Army level event. Throughout the year, each command or region hosts a competition to identify their premiere medics in the hopes of having that winning team of two that will bring the title of Army Best Medic to their command. AMEDDC&S’s qualifying event was part of their Trinity Competition. The Trinity Competition showcased the capabilities of Soldiers within AMEDDC&S HRCoE and qualified them for one of three extremely demanding Army level events: Best Warrior, Drill Sergeant of the Year, and the Army Best Medic Competition.

Church, also a 68W by trade, has been an Advanced Individual Training (AIT) Instructor/Writer in the 232nd Medical Battalion for nearly three years. He instructed 68W students at the Department of Combat Medic Training (DCMT), and currently instructs at the Soldier Medic Training Site (SMTS) on Camp Bullis for a culminating Field Training Exercise (FTX). Of the talent he faced in the local competition against other medics assigned as instructors in the AMEDDC&S HRCoE Church said, “We choose the best medics to train our future generation of medics. Going up against guys that have had multiple deployments, have seen multiple casualties and to put myself up against them –that was a challenge in and of itself.”

The AMEDDC&S HRCoE is located at JBSA, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The Center is where the Army Medical Department structures a sustainable medical organization and equipment plan, and formulates winning tactics and doctrine. The School is where the Army educates and trains all of its medical personnel. All of the approximately 34,000 combat medics (68W) in the Active Duty, Reserve or National Guard components, the second largest MOS in the Army, were trained at AMEDDC&S HRCoE.
Challengers are not required to be a 68W combat medic; anyone who has earned the Enlisted Field Medical Badge or the Combat Medical Badge can participate in the ABMC. Each year MEDCOM tasks the AMEDDC&S HRCoE to plan and execute the competition at Camp Bullis.

This year’s event was adjusted to better reflect the Army’s vision and focus of preparing Soldiers to win against any adversary in a joint, multi-domain battle, high-intensity conflict. Master Sgt. Genora Jenkins, senior operations sergeant, AMEDDC&S HRCoE G-3/5/7, has been essential to the planning and execution of the ABMC for the last four years. Jenkins said, “Of course not everyone is going to walk away with the title of ‘Army Best Medic’ but as a planner, I am focused on ensuring the competitors come away with a sense of accomplishment for having competed at this level and a sense of determination to learn from the many challenges they were faced with during the event.”

There are 23 teams scheduled to battle it out in the damp, dense, Camp Bullis training area over a 72 hour period during the 2018 ABMC. The competition promises to test the skills and limits of these elite teams during a demanding, continuous and highly realistic combat medicine scenario. Established in 1984, today’s ABMC was originally known as the Expert Field Medical Badge Challenge. In 2003 the competition was designated as the Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark Jr. Army Best Medic Competition in honor of the 13th MEDCOM Command Sergeant Major. Clark was one of the most respected leaders and non-commissioned officers in the history of the command who understood the important role of medics in the Army and the trust Soldiers and leaders of units in combat must have in the Army Medical Department.

Though it is anyone’s guess who will be the standouts among the impressive field of qualified candidates, they will surely live-up to Clark’s legacy of excellence. Winners will be agile, adaptive leaders who are able to demonstrate profound judgment while being tested on collective team skills. Those who will rise above the previously established best will need to excel in the areas of physical fitness, land navigation and warrior tasks in addition to medical skills like prolonged field care, focused primary care and advanced trauma care.

Command Sgt. Maj. William “Buck” O’Neal, AMEDDC&S HRCoE Command Sgt. Major said, “I am proud of how much our planners have elevated the event to simulate a realistic combat medicine scenario, the attention to detail our Soldiers have shown in pre-execution and the highly skilled medic team who will represent AMEDD Center and School this year. No matter the outcome when it comes to the final award presentations, this is a win for all of these competitors, AMEDD Center and School, Army Medicine and the Army.”

The title of Army Best Medic will be awarded at JBSA, Fort Sam Houston on 20 September. Details about signing up for the 2019 ABMC will be disseminated through unit operation sections; interested Soldiers should contact their G3.

Good luck to our AMEDDC&S HRCoE 2018 ABMC team and all of this year’s worthy competitors. To follow the action, visit https://www.facebook.com/ArmyBestMedicCompetition/

• Date Taken: 09.10.2018
• Date Posted: 09.14.2018 15:38
• Story ID: 292878
• Location: SAN ANTONIO, TX, US