EMF Kilo Maintains Readiness Exercise During COVID-19 Pandemic

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew R Herbst | CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Aug. 15, 2020) Sailors assigned to Expeditionary Medical Facility (EMF) Kilo perform medical training exercises and evaluation at Naval Expeditionary Medical Training Institute (NEMTI). EMF Kilo took part in a two-week evolution consisting of a complete build and retrograde of a seven wing, 50 bed EMF, didactic and psychomotor skills training and mass casualty exercises, culminating in an Operational Readiness Evaluation. (U.S. Navy Photo)  

CA, UNITED STATES

08.24.2020

Courtesy Story

Navy Medicine Operational Training Command

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Aug. 24, 2020) As the COVID-19 Pandemic continues to pose challenges and create barriers to navigating daily life, Navy Medicine repeatedly rises to the occasion ensuring maintenance of mission readiness to support the lethality of the fleet! The staff at Naval Expeditionary Medical Training Institute (NEMTI), a detachment of Navy Medicine Operational Training Center (NMOTC), recently illustrated the epitome of strength, fortitude and commitment to readiness as they executed a large-scale Expeditionary Medical Facility (EMF) training exercise and evaluation, Aug. 8-22, 2020.

EMF Kilo, a platform sourced primarily from Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, traveled to NEMTI, located on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, CA, to take part in a two-week evolution consisting of a complete build and retrograde of a seven wing, 50 bed EMF, didactic and psycho-motor skills training and mass casualty exercises, culminating in an Operational Readiness Evaluation (ORE). While successful realization of an exercise of this magnitude is an impressive feat in a non-pandemic environment, executing this training in the current state is a true testament to the resourcefulness, flexibility and loyalty of Navy Medicine personnel.

The NEMTI team prepared a rigorous COVID-19 operational risk management assessment, leaving no stone unturned. Mitigation measures ranged from daily temperature checks, masking, and sanitation to monitoring seating charts of personnel during travel to allow for comprehensive contact tracing if a positive case occurred. NEMTI collaborated early and often with NMOTC leadership, the EMF Kilo triad, and Navy Medicine and Readiness Training Command (NMRTC) Camp Pendleton preventative medicine team to ensure all measures were in place to protect students and instructors while maintaining the integrity of training and evaluation.

EMF Kilo training and ORE was successfully completed without incident. Despite the increased challenges imposed by the pandemic, many subject matter experts and evaluators expressed that this was one of the most impressive teams to complete ORE to date. This accomplishment highlights the strategic mission of our Surgeon General, RDML Bruce Gillingham, to provide “well-trained people, working as cohesive teams on optimized platforms, demonstrating high velocity performance that will project medical power in support of naval superiority.”

(U.S. Navy Story by Cmdr. Virginia Damin)

• Date Taken: 08.24.2020
• Date Posted: 08.27.2020 13:06
• Story ID: 376930
• Location: CA, US