News

Reserve medics provide ‘Care Under Fire’

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Daniel Liddicoet
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Reserve medical technicians from the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron completed tactical combat casualty care training as part of their annual training requirements in an exercise dubbed "Care Under Fire" this week at the South 40, South Approach, here.

Training for TCCC involved caring for human and mannequin patients while taking mock fire from .50 caliber rifles and other heavy artillery. It was a unique addition this year and part of a four-day field training mass casualty exercise.

"We take them out of their elements and watch them come together as a team without having a real-world mass casualty. That way, we can perform as a team rather than as individuals." said Col. Sam Barringer, 446th ASTS commander. "What works about this training is the adaptability and resiliency it promotes."

In contrast to a hospital Emergency Department setting where the patient is the mission, on the battlefield, care of casualties sustained is only part of the mission. Medical personnel must quickly move casualties to safety while being attacked by aggressors and possibly engage in a firefight on the battlefield. This combat training environment tests the skills of reserve medics, many of whom also serve as first responders in a civilian capacity.

"Even compared to outside, as far as civilian or hospital care, it's totally different," said Senior Airman Paul Whatley, 446th ASTS medical technician and volunteer firefight for Maple Valley Fire and Life Safety, Station 81. "It was definitely a great experience - pretty stressful. This is a good simulation to prepare us for when we get into those types of situations."

Typically, TCCC is designed for military medics, corpsmen, and pararescuemen who are preparing to deploy in support of combat operations. Casualty care in the tactical setting will depend on the situation, the injuries sustained, the knowledge and skills of the first responder, and the medical equipment at hand.

"It's different because how we're taught as medics, compared to combat medics, and what they do out in the field is totally different - the way we assess things and how we have to think about things," Whatley added. "It's good to have this type of field training because you never know when you have to use it. If you're in a deployment setting and someone infiltrates and can cause us danger or harm, we have to make sure we're able to take care of ourselves as well as the patients."

In addition to receiving instructive medical deployment training, 446th ASTS Airmen also applied practical skills in land navigation, en-route patient staging systems and mission oriented protective posture, or MOPP, to name a few.