Photo By Staff Sgt. Jerry Zuetrong | Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Marshelda Dozier, a combat medic from the San...... read more read more
SAN ANTONIO — Soldiers from across the Army Reserve medical community gathered in Texas March 12–15 for the 7306th Medical Exercise Support Battalion Academy, a four-day training event designed to prepare units to support realistic battlefield medical operations.
Hosted at the Armed Forces Reserve Center at Camp Bullis and the Rudder Armed Forces Reserve Center at Joint Base San Antonio, the academy focused on preparing Army Reserve Soldiers to replicate the conditions of combat casualty care during large-scale training exercises.
Participants trained within three key operational elements that support Army Reserve medical exercises: the Response Cell, the Effects and Enablers section and the Analyst Cell. Each group plays a distinct role in creating and evaluating complex medical scenarios that challenge training units to perform under pressure.
Sgt. 1st Class Maria Haynesworth, a combat medic and non-commissioned officer in charge of the Effects and Enablers section within the unit’s Current Operations Integration Center, said realism is essential to preparing medical Soldiers for the battlefield.
“We’re the unit behind the curtain,” Haynesworth said. “We provide the realism into the exercise. Without that realism, it’s really hard to put into practice what it would take to do casualty movement and casualty care.”
The Effects and Enablers section develops simulated injuries, or “injects,” that training units must assess, triage and treat. These scenarios range from blast injuries to complex trauma designed to mirror battlefield conditions.
Haynesworth said the academy helps prepare Soldiers who may be new to exercise support roles.
“The goal of the MESB Academy is to provide the augmentees an overview of what they’ll actually be doing at the exercise,” she said. “It helps bridge the gap if they’ve never worked in this type of environment before.”
Jayme Johnson, a civilian subject matter expert scriptor supporting the academy and preparing Soldiers for the upcoming Global Medic operational support exercise scheduled for the summer, said the training emphasizes teamwork and a shared understanding of doctrine.
“It takes a team to do the things that we need to do,” Johnson said. “They’ll have to understand doctrine, the maneuver plan and how health service support is applied to the maneuver plan.”
Because many roles within the exercise structure are military occupational specialty immaterial, Soldiers from a wide range of career fields fill key positions. The academy provides “just-in-time” training that helps ensure Army Reserve Soldiers arrive prepared to operate in a joint tactical environment.
Participants also receive exposure to systems such as the Command Post Computing Environment, which allows units to maintain a common operating picture during training operations.
For Staff Sgt. Juan Campos, a human resources specialist assigned to a medical unit for the first time, the academy provided critical preparation.
“Last year for annual training, I was put into a position with no prior training,” Campos said. “Now I’m thankful that I’m having this training before annual training. I don’t feel lost.”
Campos now works in the Analyst Cell, which evaluates training units by reviewing observer-controller reports and assessing how effectively medical teams respond to simulated patients during field operations.
Behind the scenes, the Response Cell, also known as the Higher Adjacent Learning Supported Supporting, or HALSS, manages the flow of simulated events throughout the exercise, ensuring commanders receive meaningful training that tests decision-making and operational coordination. Together, the Response Cell, the Effects and Enablers section and the Analyst Cell create an integrated training environment that mirrors the complexity of battlefield medicine and helps Army Reserve medical units build combat-ready formations prepared for future operations.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2026 17:20 |
| Story ID: | 560712 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 60 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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