Indiana National Guard medics pursue flight paramedic future

Photo By Staff Sgt. Tackora Farrington | Students work as a team to assist a simulated casualty out of a crashed vehical during advance trauma training at Pelham Specialty Training, Inc. in Bloomfield, Ind. The training is an accelerated program that packs nine months of training into 120 days. Students learn in a classroom setting Monday through Thursday while earning their  

BLOOMFIELD, INDIANA, UNITED STATES

08.10.2022

Story by Sgt. Hannah Clifton 

Indiana National Guard Headquarters

INDIANAPOLIS -- Aspiring Hoosier paramedics prepare to practice advance trauma training at Pelham Specialty Training, Inc. in Bloomfield, Ind. Sgt. Joseph Hartry of Lawrenceburg and Sgt. Roman Salas of Merrillville, both combat medics with the Indiana National Guard are two of the six students participating in the program.

Army medics are considered certified emergency medical technicians; however, Hartry and Salas are dedicating the next four months to completing the course to earn a nationally registered paramedic certification. The training is an accelerated program that packs nine months of training into 120 days. Students learn in a classroom setting Monday through Thursday while earning their clinical hours on the weekend.

“It takes complete commitment on the soldiers' part, and they are immersed in the training environment,” said 1st Sgt. Ryan Richmond, Indiana National Guard medical branch noncommissioned officer in charge. “We’ve been fortunate to send over 50 medics in the past five years.”

While Pelham Specialty Training, Inc is a private company who hosts training to the public, Harty and Salas can attend through a congressionally funded program offered through the National Guard. Every year the Indiana National Guard receives funding to train and retain combat medics through nationally registered medical programs.

The traditional training schedule of one weekend a month and two weeks per year isn’t ideal to keep combat medics’ skills sharp if they aren’t working in the medical field full-time. Encouraging Guardsmen to earn additional certifications outside of the military helps open better opportunities on the civilian side while creating stronger-skilled soldiers.

“It only takes one time for someone to actively go down and you to realize you haven’t done this before and someone gets hurt because of you,” said Salas. “For some medics they haven’t had a lot of hands-on training with patients to build these skills and we have this resource right here and it's much better for us to send a medic to go get training then it is to send a medic out into the field when they don’t know what to do.”

The Indiana National Guard medical team has high hopes of sending more combat medics on orders to a variety of civilian, medical training programs in the future. Currently, the goal is to send 10 to 15 lower-enlisted soldiers up to sergeant to every course the Indiana National Guard enrolls in. Ultimately, the Combat Aviation Brigade would like to fill all their flight paramedic positions by 2024.

For Salas and Hartry, attending Pelham’s paramedic course is an opportunity to learn, train and create a living by saving lives. Not only does it build a stronger force in the Indiana National Guard, but it also creates a stronger future for the Guardsmen who serve within it.


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• Date Taken: 08.10.2022
• Date Posted: 08.10.2022 12:35
• Story ID: 426940
• Location: BLOOMFIELD, INDIANA, US
• Hometown: LAWRENCEBURG, INDIANA, US
• Hometown: MERRILLVILLE, INDIANA, US