Saving Lives: Thunder Brigade troops learn basics of saving lives on the battlefield

Courtesy Photo | Spc. Caleb Pearl, Company B, 563rd Aviation Support Battalion, checks the breathing of a simulated casualty during the Eagle First Responder course at LSA Anaconda, Iraq. The course curriculum is similar to the combat livesaver course, but focuses on controlling the bleeding above anything else.  

BALAD, IRAQ

12.30.2005

Courtesy Story

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By Staff Sgt. Kevin Doheny 159th CAB PAO

LSA ANACONDA, Iraq -- In one of the chapters in the HBO movie series Band of Brothers, a medic named Eugene Roe is depicted bouncing back and forth from foxhole to foxhole trying to ensure the Soldiers in Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, were given the proper medical treatment before the siege of Bastogne in World War II. He is shown as overwhelmed, trying to keep those who had been wounded alive.

In today's combat in Iraq, many Soldiers are still in harm's way. Injured Soldiers may not have immediate access to a medic such as Roe while conducting certain missions.

In an effort to ensure the ultimate level of survivability in combat, Soldiers are now being trained as combat life savers in the Eagle First Responder Course. These Soldiers are taught basic, lifesaving measures to ensure the Soldiers next to them stay alive.

The EFR course has been recently modified to fit the ever-changing battlefield conditions. It trains Soldiers on the same techniques taught in the original CLS course, but with more in-depth information and a change in focus " stop the bleeding.

Soldiers attending the EFR class are taught to effectively stabilize a casualty for transport, according to Sgt. 1st Class Leona Brooks, 563rd Aviation Support Battalion, medical platoon sergeant and non-commissioned officer in charge for the Task Force Thunder Clinic on LSA Anaconda.

"The new class includes the CLS curriculum, but it focuses on controlling the bleeding above all else, and gives Soldiers new pieces of equipment to accomplish this," Brooks said. "It also stresses the differences between the care under fire phase of casualty care, versus tactical field care. If you are actively involved in combat, it is going to change the methods that you use to approach casualty care -- protect yourself first, return fire, while attempting to control bleeding."

Brooks said exsanguination, or bleeding out, is the leading cause of preventable death on the battlefield. Teaching Soldiers how to stop it increases a casualty's chance for survival.

"We can teach them an IV, a needle decompression, and all the fancy stuff, but if they can't remember the basics of stopping bleeding, the Soldier has a decreased chance of survival," she said.

"Knowing that some Soldiers may have fear of blood and trauma situations, we will train and help these Soldiers to overcome their fears," said Staff Sgt. Sterling McCall, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade medical operations NCO. "By the end of the course, they will be ready and capable of stabilizing their fellow Soldier until further medical help arrives."

Brooks added that there is rarely a medic on location when an incident happens, so it is important Soldiers know how to respond when needed to.

"Medics are rarely there at the point of injury," Brooks said. "If we can teach the Soldiers who work side-by-side with each other these lifesaving skills, the Soldiers have a better chance of survival."

Brooks said the 101st Airborne Division has the lowest number of Soldiers who have died of wounds in theater. This means these Soldiers were treated properly at the time of injury by the first responders.

Brooks credits this success to the division's standard of training the people who may need it most -- Soldiers on patrols, convoys and in the skies.

"The new course is an excellent effort to teach our Soldiers to take care of each other on the battlefield. It puts the emphases back on the basics where it should be, as this is the key to casualty survival," she said. "It also teaches the Soldiers to think on their feet, by explaining that the steps presented in class are just one suggestion and emphasizes that while in combat, those steps may have to adjust drastically to accomplish the mission and save the casualty."

• Date Taken: 12.30.2005
• Date Posted: 12.30.2005 13:39
• Story ID: 4236
• Location: BALAD, IQ