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QRF TEAM

Courtesy Photo | Sgt. Gyasi Moore of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 601st Aviation Support...... read more read more

01.07.2008

Story by Cpl. William Howard

Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division

Spc. Michael Howard
Combat Aviation Brigade, Ist Infantry Division

It has been said that in the heat of battle, a medic is a Soldier's best friend next to God. If that is the case, when the 601st Aviation Support Battalion's "Shadow Platoon" goes outside the wire for a mission, they've got a lot of friends.

This is thanks in part to their recent combat lifesaver recertification and situational training exercise, which is but one example of the constant training the Quick Reaction Force Soldiers receive to ensure that when they go outside the wire, they are as prepared as the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, can possibly make them.

The Department of the Army requires that 20 percent of Soldiers in a unit be combat lifesaver certified. The 601st ASB QRF teams are aiming to exceed that standard by a factor of five, with every Soldier on the quick reaction force capable of administering immediate medical care in the event of an injury. Consequently, every Soldier from Shadow Platoon attended the training one day and the other QRF platoon, Venom, went the next day.

The training was a combination of a standardized combat lifesaver recertification course and a customized STX lane that incorporated the boots on the ground battle experience of the quick reaction force's senior leadership.

For Shadow Platoon, the training began at 0900. It started off with slow but vital refresher training on nasopharyngeal airways, tourniquets, and physical assessment of the casualty. Sgt. Kimberly LaCrosse, a shift leader at the CAB troop medical clinic and a combat medic, says that while the Combat Action Tourniquet may not be the most exciting portion of the class, it is possibly the most vital. "The CAT is 100 percent effective if put on correctly. With the cravat or the other items, it's not perfect because you still have blood that comes out, but the tourniquet is 100 percent effective," she said. "It'll save a life quicker than anything."

The training day continued with recertification on intravenous drips. These drips are a vital lifesaving skill because they can stabilize a Soldier with massive blood loss when nothing else can, said Spc. Ryan A. Moya, a combat medic with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, CAB. The course also covered medical tools of the trade and methods which have undergone improvement since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. The IVs now incorporate a saline lock, which can make it easier to administer an IV to a patient with a collapsed vein. Some Soldiers claimed that the IV insertion is one of the more difficult parts of the course to master.

"It's hard to get it right. It's hard to get the needle in the vein and get the flash and everything. But the training is solid, and my partner (Pfc. Michael R. LaPointe) did a great job on sticking me. I mean, there was a prick, but it could have been a lot worse. He did really well," said Pfc. Bobbi Jo Michalski, a member of the Shadow Platoon.

After the recertification, the team headed outside for STX lane training. The course was tailor-made to meet the specific demands of the QRF team.

"I went to the QRF, and asked them what they want to learn," said LaCrosse. "We are happy to adjust our training to what the QRF Soldiers feel they need most."

The medics tasked a few Soldiers to role-play casualties, and "embedded" them with the other Soldiers. During the STX lane, the medics simulated an improvised explosive device hit by throwing water bottles at the vehicles.

The "casualties" then role-played their injuries and some of the non-injured personnel fell into their medic roles and performed tactical casualty care under fire. Simultaneously, other members of the QRF pulled perimeter security and then called in a nine-line medical evacuation request before transporting the patients to a casualty collection point for evacuation.

"During the training, the instructors added pressure to the situation by constantly reminding the Soldiers that time was a factor. LaCrosse said the reason for cranking up the pressure on these exercises is to eventually build the confidence that is vital in a successful medic under fire.

"We want them to learn to be confident in what they are doing, because if they're not confident they're going to mess up out there and someone's going to die if they don't (use) the skills that I know are in them," LaCrosse said.

Perhaps the most vital component to building both the confidence and skills necessary for the combat lifesavers to maintain the Combat Aviation Brigade's perfect zero casualties in combat record is treating the medical training as a never-ending process.

"Just tonight (after the training), we set up a time where I'm going to go over there once a week and keep them fresh on their (IVs). The training's available for them as long as they want it," LaCrosse said.

And there is no doubt that the Soldiers want the training. "We go outside of the gate every day, and lives are at stake," said Michalski. "We need the classes and the training – they're vital."