Photo By Khinna Kaminske | U.S. Army Soldiers (from left) Staff Sgt. Derek J. Born, Spec. Adrian E. Comas-Perez;...... read more read more
TRIPLER ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Hawaii – Tripler Army Medical Center is leading the way in training combat medics, enhancing their skills and improving their ability to provide prolonged casualty care under field conditions.
These medics play a vital role in supporting the U.S. Army, delivering emergency medical care at the point of injury in combat or training settings. Over time, the role of the combat medic has changed significantly — requiring updates to training protocols.
“The responsibilities and skills required of our medics are very different from 20 years ago,” said Col. Mitch Hamele, director of TAMC’s Directorate of Academics, Research and Training. “Our medics need to lean into higher level nursing and even physician skillsets. That’s what we are expecting our medics to know now.”
After medics graduate from advanced individual training, they are often sent to a forward medical unit or battalion aid station. The combat medic priorities shift from patient care to focusing on their unit's mission.
That’s where TAMC’s Medic Competency Assessment Program (MCAP) comes in. The hospital offers a four-week, blended training program that teaches medics nursing and physician level skillsets that can help their line units in the field.
“We aren't assessing competence in our program,” Hamele said. “We are trying to build capability and solidify skills that have atrophied over time.”
Typically, combat medics are trained to treat injuries in the field, while large military treatment facilities like TAMC provide advanced, high-quality, longer-term care in a hospital setting. TAMC’s medic training program intersects the two types of care and teaches combat medics higher-level skillsets for prolonged casualty care.
As part of their required training, combat medics complete tactical combat casualty care or combat lifesaver training. Currently, three tiers of tactical combat casualty care education are being taught. Each course has specific hours and requirements that military medical personnel must fulfill.
Sgt. 1st Class Anthonytomas Ortiz, DART clinical coordinator, explained that TAMC’s MCAP training builds upon that required coursework, and could be considered a “Tier 4”. What sets TAMC’s training apart is its inclusion of more advanced procedures, making it a higher tier of instruction that equips participants with a great range of skills and knowledge.
As a trained paramedic, Ortiz brought a higher level of medical expertise to the creation of the MCAP program, which he developed alongside Sgt. 1st Class (Ret) Julian Hallinan, resulting in a more effective program at TAMC.
“It’s for the combat paramedic providing basic care but with a tactical combat casualty care mindset,” Ortiz said. “We are introducing advanced airway and ventilation management, ways to treat severe thoracic trauma, managing and placing chest tubes, and teaching what medications are needed for interventions.”
The program's first week focuses on reviewing procedures, conducting simulation training and teaching. In the final weeks, participants work with providers and nurses in the emergency department, intensive care unit, and operating room, which gives the medics experience in prolonged field care.
“We want our Soldiers to take their medical and procedural knowledge and know when to apply it, especially in a resource limited environment,” Hamele said. ”Our medics need that practical application by treating real patients.”
The program partners with line units from 25th Infantry Division, based at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. The program has received positive feedback from the program graduates and their leadership.
Spec. Adrian Comas Perez is a combat medic assigned to the 21st Infantry Regiment “Gimlet,” 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. He is also a graduate of TAMC’s combat medic training program and speaks highly of the experience.
“The program allowed me to learn and practice more advanced skills in a safe setting,” Comas said. “We are usually working in a high tempo environment. I learned hospital skills and how to work in an emergency and surgical environment with real patients. We don’t get to that often because there isn’t a surgical unit on the field.”
After Comas finished the program, he returned to his unit and taught junior medics to apply and insert tubes for airway management and use urinary catheters. He appreciated mastering a skillset to introduce to the evacuation and treatment teams.
Ortiz said that experience is deliberately built into the training program — the goal is for medics to gain enough confidence in their skills that they can serve as leaders in their units.
"During the simulation training, there is an event where the medic is assigned as a team leader,” Ortiz said. “That Soldier may be the only one who can run a team of junior medics, so it’s great to get that feedback from Soldiers utilizing the skills.”
With the program's success, the training program’s leaders hope to fill more slots with Navy and Marine Corpsmen, creating a joint medical presence.
"I anticipate that the demand for our class will grow,” Ortiz said. “We want our medics to have the medical knowledge, confidence, and a better way to execute the mission. I have never experienced training like this, I would have loved this as a junior medic."
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.21.2025 15:19 |
| Story ID: | 491246 |
| Location: | HONOLULU, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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