Photo By Sgt. Jeff Drew | Sailors with Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd...... read more read more
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FORT PICKETT, VA. — The back doors of a military ambulance burst open and two Navy corpsmen jump out, hearts pumping. The field is thick and plants grow thigh-high, but adrenaline kicks in and little can be done to keep the ‘docs’ from accomplishing their mission. Helicopter rotors kick up torrents of dust, but a life is at stake and every minute counts.
For more than eight hours, sailors from Headquarters and Service Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, rehearsed casualty evacuation drills during their stay on Fort Pickett, Va., Feb. 18.
Army soldiers assisted the corpsmen in getting the simulated casualty back to the ambulance. With the clock running, they hoisted the stretcher and jumped in.
Back in the vehicle, Seaman Ricky D. Smith, a corpsman with H&S Company, went to work.
“It’s my job to stabilize the casualty until we can get him to a higher echelon of care,” said Smith. “I need to make sure he has fluids flowing, nothing is blocking his airway and he has no major bleeding.”
The simulated casualty is responsive and able to answer Smith’s basic questions. He checks for any major injuries. The casualty is shirtless with a bandage surrounding his chest and abdomen.
“Do you know what happened to you?” asked Smith.
“I was shot in the side,” came a weak reply.
Minutes later, the ambulance rounded the corner to the forward operating base’s medical tent. Corpsmen rushed to the rear of the vehicle. Again, the back doors burst open and in a flash, the patient was ferried into the tent for further examination. As it all happened, Smith relayed the information he had learned while in the vehicle.
“Communication is imperative,” said Smith. “The status of the casualty is passed between the helicopter to us in the ambulance and then again to the corpsmen in the medical station.”
Inside, the tent is well lit and several hospital corpsmen surround the patient. The bandage is stripped and an entrance and exit wound are quickly found.
“The first thing we do is control any major bleeding,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Timothy R. Hopps. “We make sure he’s breathing and has proper circulation and then we get his vital signs. The goal is to get his vitals, airway and two IVs in him within five minutes.”
Like a well-oiled machine, the corpsmen fall into their roles. Having rehearsed many times before, they know exactly what each person is capable of and how each will react in a given situation.
“We are all able to rotate any position,” said Hopps. “When a casualty comes in, we need to be very fluid in our actions and know exactly what each corpsman is going to do. Vitals, airway, IV, vehicle technician – we need to know how to do each and every job.
“For the first (casualty evacuation) of the day, I think it went well – better than I planned.”
| Date Taken: | 02.18.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2011 15:17 |
| Story ID: | 66642 |
| Location: | FORT PICKETT, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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