170th IBCT infantrymen train to become 'mini-medics'

Photo By Spc. Jazz Burney | An infantryman carries a wounded soldier to safety as they assault up a hill during the final situation lane of the 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Teams two-day combat lifesaver course held at the Outdoor Recreation and paintball field here, Nov. 18.  

BAUMHOLDER, GERMANY

11.18.2010

Story by Spc. Jazz Burney 

170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team

BAUMHOLDER, Germany – "Come on CLS. Get in there and apply that tourniquet. He's still bleeding!" urges a medic pointing to a wounded casualty inside a wooden shack.

"OK, now where do you insert the needle for the needle chest decompression?" barks the medic inside the shack.

"Below the clavicle, under the third rib," responds a soldier who then inserts a needle carefully into a mannequin's chest.

These were common expressions heard, as infantrymen from 2nd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, conducted a two-day combat lifesaver course at the Outdoor Recreation and paintball field here Nov. 18.

Behind the Outdoor Recreation building, soldiers of various ranks removed their body armor and helmets to begin the first day of training to become certified combat lifesavers.

A combat lifesaver, or CLS, is a non-medical soldier that is able to provide an instant medical response to potentially life threatening injuries suffered on a battlefield.

Because of the soldier’s knowledge of basic first-aid, the CLS soldier can assist a medic by stabilizing a casualty until the medic arrives.

“We are striving to make these soldiers mini-medics to make our job easier,” said Spc. Adam Winter, an Orlando, Fla., native, now a combat medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2-18 Infantry Battalion.

“These soldiers are going to be the first to see an initial injury because we may not get there until sometime after. We are teaching them to be proficient in stabilizing the casualty in our absence.”

During the first training day, infantrymen were put into small groups at three separate medical stations, each with a designated combat medic. The medics provided soldiers instruction and hands-on training that covered the five major causes of death on the battlefield: massive hemorrhaging, airways, respiration, circulation and hypothermia, an acronym known as MARCH.

"The skills we are introducing to these soldiers come from new guidance that our medics learned at Fort Sam Houston,” said Staff Sgt. Chris Bickford, a Manchester, N.H., native, now a senior treatment medic for HHC, 2-18 Infantry Battalion.

“We are teaching new tourniquet application techniques, how to use a needle decompression kit, dealing with hypovolemic shock and treating hypothermia.

“This training will touch everything that is in a combat lifesaver’s bag so the soldier will know exactly what to do with the equipment they have on hand.”

During the second day, the soldiers went across the street to the Outdoor Recreation paintball field to begin their CLS situation training lanes.

“We are the first unit to use the paintball field for a training simulation,” said Capt. Steffen Meiler, a Columbus, Ohio, native, now the 2-18 Infantry Battalion physician assistant. “I presented the owner of the program the type of training I wanted to have for the soldiers and he was more than happy to give us the facility.”

On the field, soldiers completed nine stations, all focused on what the infantrymen learned the day prior. The stations consisted of proper tourniquet application, proper application of improvised and issued combat bandages, properly using a combat splint, and stabilizing a casualty with a sucking chest wound. The soldiers were also trained on evacuating a casualty using a Skedco brand, sled-like litter.

To create a stressful environment for realistic training, instructors fired paintball rounds at groups of soldiers as they completed their final lane. While under simulated enemy fire, soldiers identified and treated wounded casualties, and loaded and pulled the casualties to safety on Skedco litters.

"This is the best way for our soldiers to learn, not just by hand-drills and lecture, but by really performing the material under stress and exertion," said Meiler.

The training proved its worth as soldier after soldier effectively treated casualties, stopped bleeding by applying proper tourniquet techniques, and evacuated their wounded comrades to safety.

Medics with 2-18 Infantry Battalion will continue teaching CLS courses until every soldier in the battalion is certified and prepared to apply life saving skills during their deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

• Date Taken: 11.18.2010
• Date Posted: 11.29.2010 05:53
• Story ID: 61005
• Location: BAUMHOLDER, DE