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I MEF brushes up on patient transport while corpsmen practice serving as 'docs' on the spot

29 Aug 2002 | Sgt. Leo A. Salinas Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Minimizing confusion while getting wounded Marines from the front to where they can receive intensive treatment - that was the thrust behind an exercise Aug. 22 that brought several Pendleton-based units together in a coordinated effort.

I Marine Expeditionary Force combined its Patient Movement Exercise with the 1st Medical Battalion's Medical Augmentation Program exercise, parts of which took place at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms.

The units combined forces to pool equipment and personnel to increase overall efficiency.
"It is a simple exercise operation in a complex system," said Capt. Lee E. Simon, a Navy reservist who manages training consequences for I MEF.

Using communications equipment, I MEF directed two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and a Pendleton-based CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. The helos ferried simulated casualties between a battalion aid station and ambulance exchange point at Twentynine Palms and a field hospital here.
Recent real-world deployments have highlighted the need for eliminating gaps in I MEF's patient movement system, to include medical regulation and medical evacuation, Simon said.

The Patient Movement Exercise addresses this need by emphasizing communication and managing movement of casualties over long distances.

Proper patient accounting is a paramount priority, Simon said.

"We want to make sure that from the point of injury, the military gets the right patient to the right facilities at the right places," he said.

For the corpsmen going into battle with the Marines, the exercises provided an invaluable learning tool.

"The biggest thing is for them to understand their role and know techniques," said Navy Capt. H.R. Bohman, Med. Bn.'s chief of professional services. "It gives them a good idea of the situation they can face in the real world with a limited number of supplies and personnel."

The training's importance resonated with role-players simulating the wounded and injured.

"It's good because I never knew what the Navy corpsman did," said Lance Cpl. Victor E. Carbajal, administration clerk, 1st Maintenance Battalion.

"If we go out there and get hurt, they fix us so we can go out there and get hurt all over again."

Simulated medical challenges facing corpsmen included third-degree burns, gunshot wounds and amputations. The injuries ultimately are handled at a surgical shock trauma room, but care begins with the unit corpsman, otherwise known as the "doc."

"The reason I wanted to become a corpsman is to save lives," said Seaman Marcus A. Jones of Med. Bn.

"Say we are with a division, there is not a doctor out there, we are the doc. We have to know how to treat any situation."

I MEF brushes up on patient transport while corpsmen practice serving as 'docs' on the spot

29 Aug 2002 | Sgt. Leo A. Salinas Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. -- Minimizing confusion while getting wounded Marines from the front to where they can receive intensive treatment - that was the thrust behind an exercise Aug. 22 that brought several Pendleton-based units together in a coordinated effort.

I Marine Expeditionary Force combined its Patient Movement Exercise with the 1st Medical Battalion's Medical Augmentation Program exercise, parts of which took place at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms.

The units combined forces to pool equipment and personnel to increase overall efficiency.
"It is a simple exercise operation in a complex system," said Capt. Lee E. Simon, a Navy reservist who manages training consequences for I MEF.

Using communications equipment, I MEF directed two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and a Pendleton-based CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. The helos ferried simulated casualties between a battalion aid station and ambulance exchange point at Twentynine Palms and a field hospital here.
Recent real-world deployments have highlighted the need for eliminating gaps in I MEF's patient movement system, to include medical regulation and medical evacuation, Simon said.

The Patient Movement Exercise addresses this need by emphasizing communication and managing movement of casualties over long distances.

Proper patient accounting is a paramount priority, Simon said.

"We want to make sure that from the point of injury, the military gets the right patient to the right facilities at the right places," he said.

For the corpsmen going into battle with the Marines, the exercises provided an invaluable learning tool.

"The biggest thing is for them to understand their role and know techniques," said Navy Capt. H.R. Bohman, Med. Bn.'s chief of professional services. "It gives them a good idea of the situation they can face in the real world with a limited number of supplies and personnel."

The training's importance resonated with role-players simulating the wounded and injured.

"It's good because I never knew what the Navy corpsman did," said Lance Cpl. Victor E. Carbajal, administration clerk, 1st Maintenance Battalion.

"If we go out there and get hurt, they fix us so we can go out there and get hurt all over again."

Simulated medical challenges facing corpsmen included third-degree burns, gunshot wounds and amputations. The injuries ultimately are handled at a surgical shock trauma room, but care begins with the unit corpsman, otherwise known as the "doc."

"The reason I wanted to become a corpsman is to save lives," said Seaman Marcus A. Jones of Med. Bn.

"Say we are with a division, there is not a doctor out there, we are the doc. We have to know how to treat any situation."