Photo By Sgt. Andrea Notter | Capt. Joshua Stagl, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air...... read more read more
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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. – Soldiers at Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), competed in the Medical Readiness Command-East (MRC, East) Best Medic Competition Nov. 5-9, 2022, hosted by Blanchfield Army Community Hospital MEDDAC.
Competitors were challenged on a number of skills that they would need to utilize in a real casualty care scenario. This included testing their weapons proficiency, water casualty retrieval and survival, day and night land navigation skills, Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) and physical strength to endure and overcome the obstacles in their way.
“These tasks are not notional,” said Brig. Gen. Mary Krueger, commanding general of MRC, East.” “They are the exact requirements that these Soldiers will require to successfully answer the call of a medic from our warriors on the future battlefield. This competition is combat training at its best.”
This year, the 101st Airborne Division brought five teams to the competition, two from 1st Brigade Combat Team “Bastogne,”, one from 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Rakkasans,” one from the Combat Aviation Brigade “Wings of Destiny” and one final team from Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.
While none of the 101st teams took home the win for the competition as a whole, the best Screaming Eagle team was awarded trophies of their own by Krueger, Brig. Gen. John Lubas, deputy commander officer for operations, 101st, Command Sgt. Maj. Amara Fofana, acting division command sergeant major, and Command Sgt. Maj. Rebecca Booker, command sergeant major of MRC, East.
That team was Staff Sgt. Grant Whittaker, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment “No Slack,” and Sgt. Nicolas Rodriguez, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment “Bandits,” both from 1BCT.
Rodriguez says that while competing, he had no idea how well his team was doing, but he did notice how well every team was crushing the challenges in front of them.
“I was looking around to my left and right and looking at all the other teams, and they were each doing well in their own challenges,” said Rodriguez. “I felt confident at first and then I went through a little downslope and knew I needed to catch up to these guys because they were all crushing these challenges. I knew what I was bringing to the table, but I knew that they were also bringing their A-game.”
Recently, Regional Health Command - Atlantic became Medical Readiness Command, East (MRC, East), the largest health command in Army Medicine.
The competition this year is the inaugural one since the command split in September, and though the first iteration just ended, Krueger was quick to praise the work of the Screaming Eagles.
“I am confident that the road to the Army's Best Medic runs through Fort Campbell,” said Krueger.” “This historic moment signifies a fundamental transformation and actual fracturing of our identity with our brick and mortar facilities to a more holistic role centered around our readiness mission in support of the total force. And that's really what this competition is all about - showcasing Army medicines best and affirming our commitment that we will push ourselves to the extreme to answer the call of a medic, anytime, anywhere. That is our way and this competition helps us deliver on that.”
The winning team, Capt. Gayle Benton and Sgt. Tyler Bailey from Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon, Ga., will participate in the 2023 CSM Jack Clark Army Best Medic Competition in Jan. 2023.
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| Date Taken: | 11.09.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 11.21.2022 14:40 |
| Story ID: | 433374 |
| Location: | FORT CAMPBELL, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 131 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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