JGSDF tours medical simulation center

Photo By Lance Cpl. Kris Daberkoe | Mark T. Kane explains some of the curriculum at the III Marine Expeditionary Force Tactical Medical Simulation Center on Camp Hansen to Japan Ground Self-Defense Force medical personnel during a tour of the facility Nov. 30. Courses at the center begin with formal classroom instruction and end with a combat simulation where students must perform techniques learned during the course, such as diagnosis and first aid. Kane is the deputy director of the III MEF TMSC.  

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JAPAN

11.30.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Kris Daberkoe 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP HANSEN, Japan - U.S. Navy medical instructors led senior medical personnel with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force through the III Marine Expeditionary Force Tactical Medical Simulation Center during a tour of the facility here Nov. 30.

The visit gave instructors the opportunity to share lessons learned with their JGSDF counterparts. This information is vital for establishing a training facility capable of preparing first-response personnel for the rigors of combat medicine.

“The purpose of our visit is to get the concept for how to create a training facility similar to [the TMSC] in Tokyo,” said Capt. Noriyuki Fueki, chief instructor at the JGSDF Medical Corps School.

During the tour, the JGSDF medical personnel learned about the TMSC course curriculum and how the staff prepares students for a medical combat emergency.

“For every corpsman that gets deployed into a combat environment, there needs to be at least two Marines trained as certified combat lifesavers,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam S. Martin, a corpsman with the III MEF TMSC. “If a corpsman needs to treat multiple casualties, he has those Marines nearby to help diagnose and treat patients. We’ve learned the benefits of this and want the [JGSDF] to have this lesson to teach its troops.”

Since 2010, the center has trained approximately 1,200 Navy doctors, corpsmen and combat lifesavers.

“Creating something like the center requires the right people and space, and that requires the course curriculum has the right balance between classroom time, practical application and time in the simulator,” said Mark T. Kane, deputy director with the TMSC.

At the end of the tour, the center’s staff gave a demonstration of how the simulator works. The simulation room is equipped with smoke machines and a sound system, which is designed to create a sense of confusion by blasting noises similar to those heard in a war zone and obscuring students’ vision.

“You have to think like a director,” said Kane. “As the students progress through the practical application portion of the courses, they demonstrate an understanding for the techniques they need to perform. But when students go through the combat simulator, all that goes out the window and it’s chaos.”

• Date Taken: 11.30.2011
• Date Posted: 12.08.2011 01:34
• Story ID: 81051
• Location: CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JP