How MTT Supports Vinson’s Mission

PACIFIC OCEAN

07.16.2023

Story by Petty Officer 2nd Class Emily Bennett 

USS Carl Vinson   

[PACIFIC OCEAN] – Fight or flight is a physiological response to perceived stress. The perception of a threat activates the nervous system and triggers a response of either fight, flight or freeze.

USS Carl Vinson’s (CVN 70) response to this human reaction is the Medical Training Team (MTT), which is a team dedicated to ensuring that when Vinson Sailors see someone get hurt, they don’t take flight or freeze, but jump into action to save lives. MTT empowers Vinson Sailors through training and instruction on basic life-saving techniques that can be used in an emergency medical situation.

“Most people think that we have hundreds of Sailors in the Medical department, but we only have a staff of 25,” said Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Alexis Price, the medical department leading chief petty officer and senior enlisted MTT member. “Twenty five Corpsmen cannot possibly cover 5,000 Sailors on their own, so being able to amplify our skillset and pass on that knowledge to the crew through MTT is very important.”

The synergy between medical response and warfighting lethality is crucial to the mission of Carrier Strike Group ONE (CSG-1) and Vinson. Sailors are one of our most valuable assets. The more confident and capable our Sailors are, the stronger our strike group becomes, and the training provided by MTT is another way of expanding our Sailors’ skillset.

“MTT is comprised of non-hospital corpsman personnel,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Amber Montgomery, the MTT coordinator. “That means having to learn to instruct Sailors with base-level medical knowledge and give them consistent training.”

While the goal of MTT is clear – to save lives - the success of their training can be difficult to quantify. There’s no guarantee that a Sailor who performs well in practice will be able to perform the same way in a real-world situation. Medical emergencies are not frequent enough to use as a reliable metric. Price’s idea of success means more than just numbers.

“The success of our training is measured by the confidence of the crew,” said Price. “Our team trains the crew to make sure we’re on point, even when chaos erupts.”
The type of confidence that allows a Sailor to keep a level head in a high-pressure situation is what Price sees as an important part of Vinson and CSG-1’s ability to respond effectively and efficiently.

“We can talk about the gear, the bags, the equipment and all the money that’s spent on it, but none of that equates to anything if the crew doesn’t have the confidence to perform,” he said.

MTT trains Sailors in Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC), which is split into 3 different phases: care under fire/threat, tactical field care and tactical evaluation care. They learn the basics of ensuring scene safety, moving casualties safely, applying tourniquets, hemostatic dressing, and more. Not only do they learn these techniques, but also become proficient in them according to Montgomery, as shown by the crew’s response to casualties aboard.

“Response, response, response,” said Montgomery. “The ship’s responses to real-life emergencies have shown that our team is successful at handling casualties. They know what they’re doing.”

As part of Composite Training Unit Exercise 2023, MTT will be assessed by Carrier Strike Group 15 (CSG-15), an assessment and training command. MTT believes in their ability to pass their assessment, but they’re also using this as an opportunity to improve their training methods.

“CSG-15 wants to make sure that we can meet base requirements,” said Price, “but they also want to give us a greater sense and ability by offering a different perspective.”

MTT will continue to save lives and train others to save lives, and in doing so, contribute to the strength and confidence of team Vinson and CSG-1’s maritime warfighting capabilities.

• Date Taken: 07.16.2023
• Date Posted: 12.31.2023 03:46
• Story ID: 460847
• Location: PACIFIC OCEAN