www.bliss.army.mil
Published for the Fort Bliss/El Paso, Texas Community
February 24, 2005



Training scenarios are kept as realistic as possible to build Soldier confidence.



A gas attack “victim” is treated for exposure and moved for evacuation.

    


Story by Spc. Joshua Fender
3rd Battalion 43rd Air Defense Artillery

While Spc. Oscar Moreno checks for the pulse-rate, Spc. Gary Frazier gives the patient oxygen and Staff Sgt. Miguel Santos elevates the IV.


Part of maintaining proficiency within a Military Occupational Specialty is hands-on testing with the most realistic, battlefield situations possible.

The medics of the 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery have been testing their MOS lifesaving skills in recent weeks at Tobin Wells with “Table VIII” evaluations. The Table VIII for medical personnel is also called the Semi-Annual Combat Medic Skills-Validation Test.

Laerdal Sim-Man patient simulators were used as simulated casualties during the trauma scenario. The Sim-Man realistically replicates the rise-and-fall of the chest, breathing, bleeding, and many other physical measurements. By using these training devises, the Soldiers get realistic feedback.

“When the Soldiers give an I.V., I like to pump the bag so that the blood squirts for realism,” said Pfc. Scarlett Rocha.

No one is telling the medics that a certain wound appears or that the patient is breathing. They assess all of that information on their own. If the medics miss a step in treatment or if they do something incorrectly, the Sim Man’s heartbeat flatlines and dies.
   
While Spc. Oscar Moreno moves the patient onto the stretcher, Spc. Gary Frazier maintains the c-spine and Staff Sgt. Miguel Santos assists with the patient’s breathing.

 

“There is no mistake in the treatment, if the patient dies, you get a no-go,” said Pfc. Jay Hollum.
Spc.Tanya Guinther, who operated the Sim-Man added that, “This is great training, I’ve learned so much by watching the evaluations and by running the program.”

The NBC portion of the evaluation starts with yellow smoke, to indicate a chemical environment. After the Soldiers don the Mission Oriented Protective Posture assigned, a casualty appears with signs of exposure. The medic and the Combat Life Savers need to assess what extremities were exposed, and begin treatment in the chemical environment.

After the three-part evaluation, the medic being evaluated receives an After Action Review that includes a video of the evaluation, as well as a verbal and written assessment of the performance.

 
  Capt. Mark Hayward explains different types of scenarios that the battalion medics and combat lifesavers may encounter during evaluations.


Capt. Mark Hayward, the Physician’s Assistant for the battalion and lead evaluator for the Table VIII’s said, “This type of training is only possible because several things come together in the battalion. The command team understands the importance of this certification and places command emphasis on it. We have state-of-the-art training aids and the time to prepare and conduct these evaluations properly.”

Hayward said that evaluators like Staff Sgt. George Cassidy, who returned from 15 months in Iraq last July and has extensive real-world trauma experience.

“We have motivated medics, who have the desire to become subject matter experts, learning more all the time. It [Table VIII evaluations] is a well defined standard for every medic to go after, strain, want, and practice. It builds professionalism and confidence – not only for the medic, but for the CLSs who work with the medic, the unit leaders, and the Soldiers who these medics care for on the battle field,” Hayward said.