25th Infantry Division holds annual Best Medic Competition

Photo By Sgt. Michael Bradle | Medics from the 25th Infantry Division participate in a mock Mass Casualty event at Lighting Academy in Wahiawa, Hawaii on July 24, 2020. The graders held this event to determine how medics worked under pressure and how well they worked with each other. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael Bradle)  

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII, UNITED STATES

07.31.2020

Story by Spc. Michael Bradle 

25th Infantry Division   

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii – On 23 July, 10 medics from across the 25th Infantry Division competed for the title of Best Medic.
The competition was held over a grueling 48-hour period at the 25th Inf. Div.’s Lightning Academy. This year’s winner is Staff Sgt. Martin Coronaverduzco, a combat medic with 25th Infantry Inf. Division Div. Artillery.
The competition evaluated the medics’ tactical and medical capabilities by challenging their land navigation abilities, tested their Tactical Combat Casualty Care knowledge, and timed their ability to complete a 12-mile road march.
When asked about the difficulty of the competition and its events, Sgt. 1st Class Brett Anderson of Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the BMC, stated that the difficulty of each event would be based on each competitor’s skill set.
“It depends on your strengths and weaknesses,” Anderson said. “Some people cannot swim, so water survival would be difficult. Some can’t ruck, so the ruck march would be difficult . . .”
Anderson explained the competition events were all part of medical training and standards they have worked under in the past. Such standards included Emergency Medical Services training and requirements for the Expert Field Medic Badge.
“I wanted to do the 2020 Best Medic Competition because I wanted to challenge myself,” said Sgt. Taylor Venegas, a combat medic with 25th Inf. Div. Artillery and fellow competitor. “I like to do schools, I like to train, I like to meet new people, and awesome cadre. I love pushing myself and trying to achieve the next best thing.”
“What really motivated me was the fact that it was a competition specifically for medics,” Venegas said. “So I think it was awesome to be with some of my peers and learn some skills that they might know and I might not and be able to share some skill that I might know and they might not.”
“I want people to push themselves out of their comfort zone,” Venegas concludes. “I myself worked in the clinic for the majority of my time here, so I haven’t had a lot of experience with hands on medical training. But that didn’t stop me from coming and competing.”
Coronaverduzco will represent the 25th Inf. Div. at Regional Health Command Atlantic’s Best Medic Competition in January 2021.

• Date Taken: 07.31.2020
• Date Posted: 07.31.2020 16:46
• Story ID: 375062
• Location: SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII, US