Photo By Spc. Evangelos Wilson | U.S. Army Soldiers assigned to 3rd Brigade Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry...... read more read more
Subscribe
EAST RANGE, Hawaii - From the battlefield to the hospital ward, military medicine has changed and evolved in many ways. Out of this evolution, a standard operating procedure has surfaced that drives training at echelon. What happens when the environment is anything but standard? The 325th Brigade Support Battalion Jungle Medicine course addresses this issue by providing relevant and threat-informed training in the exact environment in which they will be needed: the thick underbrush and deep gulches of the jungle.
During World War II and Vietnam in the Pacific theater, disease and non-battle injuries accounted for more than 65% of battlefield admissions. This high injury rate combined with reports of medics not being adequately trained to handle the jungle environments created a knowledge gap between how the U.S. Army trains its medical personnel and the harsh realities of jungle warfare. Current Army operating procedures dictate that a combat medic will treat a casualty at the point of injury and maintain care until the causality is evacuated to the Role I, the first echelon of care, before the casualty is sent to specialty care dictated by priority and injury. The Pacific theater throws a jungle-sized monkey wrench in the mix by disaggregating logistics and complicating transportation requiring medics to hold onto casualties longer and have to more farther distances. The 325th Brigade Support Battalion's (325 BSB) Jungle Medicine course aims to train combat medics to adapt and improvise when immediate care is unavailable.
Charlie Company, "Cold Steel," is the medical company of the 325 Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Infantry Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. Out of this company comes highly specialized and highly effective jungle medics, but what's their secret? The 325 BSB has partnered with the 18th Medical Command for three years to host the Jungle Medicine course. This two-week-long course combines the people, tools, and environment necessary to generate highly realistic training in the unit's backyard on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu.
"This course allows us to keep our combat medics effective in an environment they probably have not yet worked in,” 1st Lt. Lieutenant Edwin Sillero said when asked about the importance of the course. "We added obstacles that potentially distract patient care to push a proper triage. It's a highly dynamic environment [the jungle] and it's our job to adapt."
Deep gulches, damp conditions, and thick canopies can become minor inconveniences or significant operational obstacles. In the jungle, inconvenience can be deadly when caring for a wounded Soldier. The jungle medicine course introduces these factors in a controlled classroom environment before combining them in a squad exercise focusing on prolonged patient care and air/ground medical evacuation (medevac).
Sgt. 1st Class Miguel Valdez, a flight paramedic assigned to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division gave perspective on how this training benefits air medevac crews. "We rarely have the opportunity to train on the jungle penetrator (JP) capabilities in our area of operation. Now, when medics are in the gulch and sitting on a casualty, our crews are more confident with hoist and JP operations. We’re always excited to train at Jungle Medicine, there’s nothing like this in the Army."
The Office of the Surgeon General and U.S. Army Medical Command identified one of their priorities for sustaining health as the ability to "clear the battlefield, save lives, and return Soldiers to the fight." Clearing the battlefield in open environments is hard; doing it in the sloping, uneven jungle terrain is another thing entirely. Students learn a variety of rope systems to combat the often-vertical terrain of the jungle. The rope systems, similar to the mountaineering kits found in a dismounted infantry or cavalry squad, can turn impassable slopes into efficient egress routes, essential for the timely evacuation of casualties.
The course capstone combined classroom-taught lessons with the practical application portion of jungle medicine to create a highly realistic scenario, pitching the students against all the elements of the jungle at once. Students conducted a movement-to-contact drill, requiring tactical proficiency to overcome before they identified a casualty. The squad then rapidly and accurately assessed the casualty before delivering aid. Senior medical personnel oversee each lane, adding dilemmas, including additional injuries, indirect fire, or abbreviated timelines to create the necessary stress test. Once stable, the students must move the casualty utilizing rope systems and reassessment techniques to either air or land medical evacuation locations.
With students representing every branch of U.S. military medical servicemembers, the Jungle Medicine course allows senior leaders the ability to field new medical equipment with an eye toward cross-service interoperability. In collaboration with the U.S. Air Force research laboratory, medical leaders implemented the Battlefield Assisted Trauma Distributed Observation Kit (BATDOK). Soldiers can utilize this tool to effectively communicate lifesaving medical information from point of injury to the appropriate medical care.
“BATDOK demonstrates interoperability of medical tech across the joint force,” explained U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Spencer Peters, a medical lieutenant assigned to the U.S. Air Force research laboratory. “Integrated mobile solution for patient care and documentation, beginning at point of injury, to medevac and through the care continuum for maximum medical awareness.”
BATDOK allows for joint communications between partner forces and provides medical command and control to allow continuity of patient care and tracking of medical equipment usage.
After two weeks of intense study and application, over 170 students stood outside the 25th Infantry Division headquarters and received their graduation certificates for Jungle Medicine. U.S. Army Colonel (R) Ethan A. Miles, the guest speaker for the graduation, emphasized the importance of training in the operating environment.
"It's our job as medical providers to be prepared for anything,” he said. “This course has given you the tools you need; what you do with them is up to you."
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Brandon Grooms, the 325 BSB commander, expressed enthusiasm for next year's Jungle Medicine course.
"The goal is to make it bigger, better, and realistic."
Jungle Medicine continues to be the benchmark of jungle-related medical training on Oahu. The joint aspect of this training allows enhanced interoperability between military branches and increased situational awareness for jungle-related medical operations. Clearing the battlefield and returning Soldiers to the fight allows commanders to maintain momentum and generate combat-credible forces ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.03.2024 22:56 |
| Story ID: | 472929 |
| Location: | SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Military Medics Battle the Elements in Jungle Training, by 1LT Jordan Balzano, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
