“Thank you for demonstrating your resiliency and building upon that resiliency over these two days of training. Thank you for making us more resilient, and I guarantee that when we do go downrange, we will be more successful and get the job done. We will make our nation proud.” These are words spoken by Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy Sweeten, Expeditionary Medical Facility-150 Mike (EMF-M), at the culmination of a 2-day Expeditionary Sustainment training exercise held onboard Naval Air Station Jacksonville.
“We plan to host this kind of training quarterly to ensure our EMF-M staff have the opportunity to practice and train in the field to receive casualties,” said Lt. Cmdr. Sierra Nichols, director for Expeditionary Medicine at Naval Hospital (NH) Jacksonville. “The exercise incorporates patient movement, patient tracking, triage, treatment, and surgical intervention. EMF-M Sailors are exposed to new roles and responsibilities in casualty management that may differ from their jobs at NH Jacksonville.”
The final day of training ran scenarios of victims arriving on a helicopter that needed triage and then taken either to the operating room or the emergency room. Running multiple evolutions of training allowed the team to align roles and responsibilities with hands-on training.
“We were given hands-on practice of tier 3 patient care, as well as exposure to scenarios we may face should EMF-M members be activated to deploy,” said Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Lydia Daley said. “It allowed us to put faces to the names of those that may be downrange with us and help us find a bit of a flow on what takes place inside an EMF, enhancing our readiness and increasing our potential for offering lifesaving care even in less-than-ideal circumstances.”
Members of the hospital security team got a chance to train by searching the victims for weapons or explosive devices. The exercise saw not only medical personnel, but other Sailors in rates such as culinary specialist (CS) get hands-on experience.
“They asked for volunteers to attend the training, and I have already attended Tactical Combat Casualty Care course, so I jumped at the opportunity,” said Culinary Specialist 3rd Class Isaiah Alexander. “I am getting experiences I never thought I would in this rate, and I highly recommend anyone to get additional training, because you never know when you might need it.”
During a review of the training at its completion, the chaplain shared how this type of training goes along with the body, mind and soul theory of being spiritually ready as a warfighter.
“Your commitment to that goal drove us to outperform here. It was amazing, and you can do that every day - you don't have to wait until we do an exercise. Every day, I need to be resilient and employ my soul’s values,” said Sweeten.
Members of the team said the training left them feeling less anxious to deploy and better prepared by reducing a bit of the “unknown” feeling. Plans to continue training on a regular basis are already in the works, according to Nichols.
“As the new director for Expeditionary Medicine, I will be coordinating Expeditionary Medicine weekly topics on Navy Medicine’s platforms, patient holding considerations, medical logistics, mental health, and a wide variety of focus areas to expand the knowledge base of our Sailors before they deploy or transfer to operational units,” said Nichols.