For Them, Navy Medicine is a Family Exercise

Photo By Cmdr. Todd Spitler | Cmdr. Rob Coisman and his son, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Matthew Coisman, pause outside a field hospital at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. during Exercise Global Medic 2021. The Sailors are attached to a Navy Reserve Expeditionary Medical Facility participating in Global Medic, a joint force multi-day field training exercise that simulates real-world combat deployment in an austere environment. The Medical Readiness Training Command executes Global Medic as part of the Army Reserve Medical Command's larger mission to provide trained, equipped, and combat ready units and medical personnel to support the total force on the battlefields of today and tomorrow.  

UNITED STATES

06.17.2021

Courtesy Story

Commander, Navy Reserve Force   

JOLON, Calif. – For Cmdr. Robert Coisman and his son, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Matthew Coisman, talking shop is a common ritual at the dinner table, but when both found their boots on the ground for this year’s Exercise Global Medic at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., it was an opportunity for this father and son to work side-by-side, the wealth of experience from one, and the future of the program from the other.

Organized by the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Readiness and Training Command, Exercise Global Medic provides robust opportunities for military medical personnel to improve their proficiencies in realistic training environments, while combining forces with other service branches and international militaries.

Cmdr. Coisman is serving as the overall Training Officer for Combat Support Training Exercise 91-21 at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. Attached to a U.S. Navy Reserve Expeditionary Medical Facility, in Bethesda, Maryland, he has been instructing exercise participants from the U.S Army and U.S. Navy in a wide range of training topics to include Chemical, Biological, Radioactive, Nuclear and Explosives, Basic Life Support, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Military Working Dog, and Expeditionary Medical Facility Build.

“I have participated in seven Global Medic exercises, and I am extremely proud to serve with Matt as this is his first exercise,” said the senior Coisman. “I can see him challenging himself and developing his skills each day as part of a U.S. Navy medical unit. I am at a stage in my Navy career where I can share my experiences and provide guidance to our Sailors during Global Medic and throughout the Fleet.”

Global Medic is the largest joint patient movement and medical field training exercise within the Department of Defense that trains units to deliver synchronized joint, multi-component, and multinational world class expeditionary healthcare to meet combatant commander requirements in a complex and large-scale operational environment. The Army Reserve Medical Readiness and Training Command is the exercise agent, designing training that enables the U.S. Armed Forces to maintain a ready status by providing annual campaign-quality joint accredited collective medical training exercises, as part of the Army Reserve Medical Command's larger mission to provide trained, equipped, and combat ready units and medical personnel to support the total force on the battlefields of today and tomorrow.

The intent of the exercise is to create a fast-paced, combat zone experience. With the training the Sailors receive, they will become capable of performing the basic and tactical operations to prepare a Navy Expeditionary Medical Facility for worldwide deployment. Military medicine is a joint effort and part of its readiness includes being able to work with the other services. Global Medic is just one part of a larger exercise involving the Army and the Navy.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Coisman is in his third year of service, currently assigned to U.S. Navy Reserve Expeditionary Medical Facility in Jacksonville, Florida, he is trained as a Field Medical Service Technician, trained to serve with U.S. Marine Corps units. The younger Coisman is assigned to a Casualty Receiving Team during Global Medic.

“I have always wanted to serve and I am very proud to serve at the same time with my Dad,” Coisman said. “He has his chain of command, I have mine, but even when we’re busy and see each other, we give each other a head nod, a ‘good to see you,’ and keep it moving.”

As Cmdr. Coisman and HM3 Coisman conclude this year’s Global Medic exercise, they quietly know they are adding to the family’s rich history of service to the Navy.

More than 2,700 personnel participate annually in Global Medic at Fort McCoy, Wisc. and Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. as rotational medical training units, real-world medical support, observer coach/trainers, and exercise control support staff. Participants include joint units from all components of the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. Multinational partners from have included units from Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.

• Date Taken: 06.17.2021
• Date Posted: 06.22.2021 14:09
• Story ID: 399440
• Location: US