Photo By Cpl. Robert Bliss | Hospitalman Joel Blades takes a break as Field Medical Training Battalion West nears...... read more read more
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CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - The afternoon was calm and quiet as the students of Field Medical Training Battalion-West moved in formation through a simulated urban landscape. The students scanned the area for any possible threats: Enemy hostiles, improvised explosive devices, anything that would be considered harmful in the field. The coast was clear when suddenly a flashbang grenade ripped through the silence. Within seconds the air was filled with dust and smoke as a voice screamed, “Casualty! Casualty!”
The confusion and adrenaline rose as the students rushed to take action. “Go! Go! Go!,” commands could be heard ringing out as the students dashed to drag casualties out of harm’s way while the other students provided cover fire for those aiding the injured.
The scenario sounds like an intense movie scene or an account of actual combat, but it was a training drill the Field Medical Service Technician Course required its corpsmen to complete as their final exercise aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 10, 2015.
The 3-day training exercise served as the last test in determining whether or not the students would be called “greenside” corpsmen, serving alongside and caring for Marines in combat. It was a grueling phase of drills, physical conditioning, and trials of endurance designed to push them to their limits.
“Now the students are able to see how the process really works,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class William Hoff, a hospital corpsman and instructor with FMTB West. “They’re tired and they’re worn out, they’re miserable and we’re PTing the crud out of them. They’re working hard but they’re learning what being a greenside corpsman is all about.”
Difficulties corpsmen faced during the exercise are readily apparent: Constant patrolling, security drills and evacuating simulated casualties. The challenges were numerous and debilitating, but through it all another result was evident: Brotherhood. The shared sense of hardship and suffering through little to no sleep and non-stop physical training gave way to camaraderie unlike anything the students had experienced thus far.
“You suffer together, you come together,” said Hoff. “Shared misery builds that sense of shared accomplishment, this is the hardest thing a lot of these guys have done in their careers in the Navy, so when they come through it, that feeling of brotherhood is truly there.”
Many challenges the students faced were reflective of real-world scenarios that can occur in actual combat. The exercise used the most authentic training elements possible; so far as to employ former amputees in the drills.
“We learn our skills in a very life-like training environment,” said Hospitalman Keegan Ovnicek, a student with FMTB West. “We had amputees that are actually missing limbs come in and work with us. The lady who I was working with in particular no longer had her left arm. We learned how to deal with realistic amputation. This is the best field medicine training I’ve ever experienced.”
The wide array of training exercises and constant operations were a culmination of the 8-week course; the finale was an 8-mile hike on the last day.
The students’ uniforms were drenched with sweat and covered in dirt from the hike and three days of training. The next trial they must endure: rehearsing for their graduation ceremony.
Through trials like the final exercise, sailors remain trained, relevant and responsive to emergency situations across the globe with the Marines they serve with side-by-side.
| Date Taken: | 09.10.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 09.18.2015 13:56 |
| Story ID: | 176434 |
| Location: | CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 739 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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