Photo By Lt. Col. Kristin Porter | The 811th Hospital Center conducted operations in a secure area like this tent set up...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT DIX, N.J. — As soldiers from across the U.S. Army Reserve converged for the annual Regional Medic exercise in July, units like the 811th Hospital Center, headquartered in Independence, Missouri, not only helped test the readiness of others — they sharpened their own operational capabilities for future missions.
Master Sgt. Rebecca Rhodes, Operations NCO for the 811th, shared insights into how the unit functioned as the lower response cell during the exercise. Their mission: simulate a field-deployed battalion in support of the 139th Medical Brigade, respond to complex scenarios in real-time, and provide critical injects to help evaluate the brigade’s decision-making under pressure.
“We simulated their battalion as though we were in the field, separated from them,” said Rhodes. “As scenarios were fed to the brigade by observer controllers, we acted as the notional hospital center and sent up stimulus based on those events.”
These injects, fictional but realistic challenges, ranged from handling classified information spillage, to navigating resupply along enemy-threatened routes, to managing overwhelmed medical facilities. The goal was to ensure the brigade could coordinate and command under pressure, while units like the 811th Hospital Center tested their own internal processes.
“This wasn't just support for the brigade; it was a real training opportunity for us, too,” said Rhodes. “We've exercised the same staff functions we'd perform in an actual mission, from interpreting brigade-level guidance to managing our subordinate field hospitals.”
The 811th brought 11 soldiers to Regional Medic, organized to reflect the full range of staff functions found in a command post: personnel (S1), intelligence (S2), operations (S3), logistics and sustainment (S4), clinical operations, IT (S6), and digital common operating picture operators.
“We even had our clinical operations cell in place,” Rhodes added. “If our notional beds were full, for example, the brigade would have to coordinate with a notional division to re-route casualties. These are realistic scenarios, and we tracked and reacted to them just like we would in a deployed setting.”
Preparing for Global Medic 2026
This year’s Regional Medic was more than just a test run; it’s preparation for next year’s Global Medic, the Army Reserve’s premier medical training event. Rhodes explained that this exercise serves as the "walk" phase before the “run” at Global Medic.
“We used this to refine and validate our SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), test our internal processes, and prepare junior soldiers for operating in a staff environment,” said Rhodes. “Many haven’t been exposed to this level of command post operations before, and we want our processes to be effective no matter who rotates in or out of the unit.”
The 811th spent the last year preparing for Regional Medic, knowing mission command systems would be a challenge. Their soldiers attended planning conferences, trained with new mission command systems like CPOF (soon to be replaced by CPCE) and MedCOP, and hosted mobile training sessions during battle assemblies back in Independence.
“Those systems aren’t something you use in a typical garrison setting,” she noted. “They require network integration and a real mission environment to truly practice. This was the first chance many of our Soldiers have had to use them outside of a classroom, and we were looking forward to that hands-on exposure.”
A Foundation for Future Success
As the Army Reserve evolves to meet the demands of multi-domain operations, exercises like Regional Medic ensure medical units are not just medically proficient, but operationally ready.
For the 811th Hospital Center, this training marked a critical step toward mastery.
“We weren’t just a training audience,” Rhodes said. “We used this to become better -- more efficient, more responsive, and more capable -- always ready to support our subordinate medical detachments, and ultimately, the patients we serve on any future deployment.”
| Date Taken: | 08.19.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.21.2025 20:24 |
| Story ID: | 545993 |
| Location: | FORT DIX, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Training for Readiness: How the 811th Hospital Center Strengthened Operations During Regional Medic, by LTC Kristin Porter, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
