thedrifter
08-05-07, 09:57 AM
Combat lifesaving skills prepare Marines
By Pfc. Achilles Tsantarliotis, MCB Hawaii
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (Aug. 1, 2007) -- “I wasn’t about to let that man die,” said Steve A. Adams, a former mechanic motorpool wrecker operator recovery specialist, in the Army from ‘93 to ‘99. “When I saw that man lying there with blood around him, I just acted and started finding some sort of dressing to clog up this man’s leg.”
Adams recalled the incident that occurred two months ago, in late June on Hale Loke Street in Kaneohe, with a sense of pride.
“It looked like he was bleeding heavy blood, arterial blood, and I knew from a combat life saving course I took when I was in the Army, that meant he only had so much time left,” Adams said. “I lifted him up and my back had so much pressure on it that it was locking up, and I had my jaw clenched so hard that I popped a filling out. I lifted him up and at the same time I was treating his wife for shock by keeping her preoccupied. I made her go get some juices so he could replenish some of the fluids that he’d been losing.”
Adams attended a two-week combat lifesaving course while serving in the Army, during Operation Dessert Storm, when it was very likely he’d use the skills. The course taught the basics of first-aid like treating blood loss and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It emphasized field-training exercises where the skills had to be applied under stressful situations, Adams said. Fortunately, he never had to use the skills in combat, but it was evident it helped him save a disabled Marine’s life.
That’s the story many would think unrealistic as they take first aid or combat lifesaving courses, yet its reality is present and people taking the courses should take it as seriously and realistically as possible.
Adams didn’t think twice when he saw the disabled former Marine, who served in Vietnam, in distress.
“I just acted, not only as a fellow servicemember but as a fellow human,” Adams said. Today’s society wouldn’t get dirty with all these threats of HIV or Hepatitis C, but I wasn’t going to let that man die.”
Adam’s experience and other similar experiences is justification for Chief Petty Officer Gregory Fall.
“The main focus is to help them apply with confidence the lifesaving skills during varying situations, and to help sustain a wound until a corpsman can help,” said the instructor of the combat lifesaving skills course, here.
The skills taught are emphasized to build a strong foundation in applying short-term medical aid to enable service members to be aware and react confidently and in combat. The course instructs the “ABC’s” of care. The acronym stands for airway, breathing and circulation. Under these three branches, the service members are taught skills like applying pressure dressings, treating various wounds, how to control bleeding and keeping the casualty’s heart going. These skills are meant to assist and keep them alive until medical care can be provided.
“The Marines who take the course are very enthusiastic and willing to learn, maybe more so than in basic (training) because they know it could benefit them in a difficult time,” Fall said. “When they do need to use these skills to save their buddy, they do it without hesitation and act instantly.”
During the course, the instructors will integrate and participate with the Marines during exercises like mock plane crashes and other simulations, Fall said.
The course is a week-long period of instruction with final exams held each component of the course. Marines taking the course are learning appropriate skills not only for their own benefit, but for their buddy’s too.
Ellie
By Pfc. Achilles Tsantarliotis, MCB Hawaii
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII (Aug. 1, 2007) -- “I wasn’t about to let that man die,” said Steve A. Adams, a former mechanic motorpool wrecker operator recovery specialist, in the Army from ‘93 to ‘99. “When I saw that man lying there with blood around him, I just acted and started finding some sort of dressing to clog up this man’s leg.”
Adams recalled the incident that occurred two months ago, in late June on Hale Loke Street in Kaneohe, with a sense of pride.
“It looked like he was bleeding heavy blood, arterial blood, and I knew from a combat life saving course I took when I was in the Army, that meant he only had so much time left,” Adams said. “I lifted him up and my back had so much pressure on it that it was locking up, and I had my jaw clenched so hard that I popped a filling out. I lifted him up and at the same time I was treating his wife for shock by keeping her preoccupied. I made her go get some juices so he could replenish some of the fluids that he’d been losing.”
Adams attended a two-week combat lifesaving course while serving in the Army, during Operation Dessert Storm, when it was very likely he’d use the skills. The course taught the basics of first-aid like treating blood loss and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It emphasized field-training exercises where the skills had to be applied under stressful situations, Adams said. Fortunately, he never had to use the skills in combat, but it was evident it helped him save a disabled Marine’s life.
That’s the story many would think unrealistic as they take first aid or combat lifesaving courses, yet its reality is present and people taking the courses should take it as seriously and realistically as possible.
Adams didn’t think twice when he saw the disabled former Marine, who served in Vietnam, in distress.
“I just acted, not only as a fellow servicemember but as a fellow human,” Adams said. Today’s society wouldn’t get dirty with all these threats of HIV or Hepatitis C, but I wasn’t going to let that man die.”
Adam’s experience and other similar experiences is justification for Chief Petty Officer Gregory Fall.
“The main focus is to help them apply with confidence the lifesaving skills during varying situations, and to help sustain a wound until a corpsman can help,” said the instructor of the combat lifesaving skills course, here.
The skills taught are emphasized to build a strong foundation in applying short-term medical aid to enable service members to be aware and react confidently and in combat. The course instructs the “ABC’s” of care. The acronym stands for airway, breathing and circulation. Under these three branches, the service members are taught skills like applying pressure dressings, treating various wounds, how to control bleeding and keeping the casualty’s heart going. These skills are meant to assist and keep them alive until medical care can be provided.
“The Marines who take the course are very enthusiastic and willing to learn, maybe more so than in basic (training) because they know it could benefit them in a difficult time,” Fall said. “When they do need to use these skills to save their buddy, they do it without hesitation and act instantly.”
During the course, the instructors will integrate and participate with the Marines during exercises like mock plane crashes and other simulations, Fall said.
The course is a week-long period of instruction with final exams held each component of the course. Marines taking the course are learning appropriate skills not only for their own benefit, but for their buddy’s too.
Ellie