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ĀDAŽI, Latvia – U.S. Soldiers from Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, trained their proficiency in Tactical Combat Casualty Care during a recent mass casualty training exercise in Latvia on Oct. 17, 2025. The event began with an in-depth refresher course on life-saving techniques and concluded with a high-paced lane designed to test their knowledge and performance under stress and fatigue.
Soldiers who serve as artillerymen and gunners in their unit attended the class because they must also be prepared to provide immediate medical care in combat situations. 1st.Lt. Nathaniel Masters, Bravo Battery’s fire direction officer in charge of leading the medical lanes stressed the need for troops on the line to know how to provide immediate life preserving care, “It's important because people need to be ready. Anything can happen, and when stuff goes down, you're going to rely on your training; you're going to rely on what you know,” Masters said.
TCCC has three main phases: care under fire, tactical field care, and tactical evacuation care. Care under fire focuses on preserving the lives of casualties and service members while maintaining their own safety and security until they can move the casualty to a more secure location. During this phase, service members return fire and take cover, directing the casualty to do the same if physically capable. Next, if strategically viable, they will halt any life-threatening external hemorrhages by using a Combat Application Tourniquet or by using Combat Gauze to accelerate blood clotting. Soldiers use this training to protect themselves and others, with the aim of increasing the chances of survival until evacuation. Tactical field care begins when the casualty is in a secure location with enemy fire suppressed. Soldiers then evaluate the casualty’s airway, breathing, and circulation, treating injuries and managing shock as the situation permits.
The time and resources invested in training like this are crucial to battlefield readiness and the overall reduction in battlefield lethality.
According to the online site, DeployedMedicine, TCCC has enabled the U.S. to attain the best casualty survival rating in U.S. history. Comparing 19.1% WWII battlefield fatalities to OIF/OEF 9%. Time is a key determining factor to survivability especially when the two most treatable cause of death are external hemorrhages and obstructed airways. TCCC provides Soldiers with the skills and knowledge to deliver life-saving treatment closest to the source of injury and the ability to sustain casualties until evacuation.
Tactical evacuation care continues with treatment and care for the casualty, while preparing them for a medical evacuation to a safer and more secure area, where they will then receive a higher level of medical treatment. Realistic training scenarios like this help to ensure service members can maintain operational effectiveness while providing life-saving treatment. It equips them with the knowledge and ability to save lives during a crisis and adapt to changing combat environments. Masters made sure the Soldiers understood their individual roles to themselves and each other, saying, “People go down; they have all types of different injuries, this is teaching you to react, to stay calm, apply the appropriate care, and hopefully save lives.”
| Date Taken: | 10.17.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.16.2025 07:36 |
| Story ID: | 551111 |
| Location: | ADAZI, LV |
| Web Views: | 36 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, U.S. Soldiers in Latvia Sharpen Combat Casualty Care Skills in Mass-Casualty Drill, by PFC Gabriel Martinez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
