thedrifter
09-30-07, 08:24 AM
'A real change of pace'
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
An improvised explosive device goes off with a thundering sound, sending debris and smoke through a building filled with U.S. troops and hostiles. U.S. Marines storm the building, clearing it of hostiles.
Navy corpsmen are right behind them checking for survivors. They find several Marines seriously injured and some dead. The injured Marines are confused and uncooperative.
As the corpsmen drag the injured Marines out of the smoking building, one of the Marines grips the severed left leg of his dead sergeant.
"I got Gunny's leg! I got Gunny's leg!" he screams.
Another Marine begins to shout in his native Spanish, making it hard for the corpsmen to understand what is wrong with him.
Everywhere the corpsmen look, someone needs their help.
Except these corpsmen aren't in Iraq or Afghanistan, they are in the middle of a training exercise at Camp Johnson.
The Marines the corpsmen are treating are either high-tech mannequins that can bleed and produce vital signs or training personnel fixed up with Hollywood-like makeup to simulate casualties in a combat situation.
"All of this is a tool to get (the corpsmen) ready for the field," said Lt. Carmen Rowe, an instructor at Field Medical Training Battalion. "This introduces them to the stress of casualty assessment on the battlefield."
Once the corpsmen have pulled the injured out of the building, they set up a triage station where their training really kicks into gear.
The exercise teaches the corpsmen investigative medical treatment, said Chief Thomas Kmetz, a trainer with the program.
"Sometimes there might be a Marine covered in a lot of blood and yet not actually be injured," he said. "Proper triage is vital. In a cold-hearted world, Marines die if a corpsman is wasting time and supplies on the wrong guy."
Kmetz said the exercise is the culmination of seven weeks of training for new corpsmen who will be shipping out for Iraq or Afghanistan within the next six months.
"This is designed to stress these corpsmen out as much as possible," Kmetz said. "We would rather see them fail here because of stress than out on the battlefield."
The mock injuries the corpsmen treat are based on statistical data gathered from actual combat situations, said Lt. J. Rosario.
In Iraq, most of the Marine casualties do not involve gunfire, but injuries sustained from flying shrapnel or debris after an IED is set off, Rosario said.
"We are seeing that amputations are not the norm any longer. In large-scale conflict, arms and legs are usually blown off. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we are seeing more injuries from shrapnel and debris," he said. "Corpsmen need to be able to deduce who needs the most help and who needs help first."
Kmetz said the realistic injuries are something new corpsmen have never been exposed to and more than likely could not imagine.
"They thought they had all the intel, but on a battlefield, intel is ever-changing," Kmetz said.
Hospitalman James Jones, a new corpsman who went through the exercise, said he was initially shocked by what he saw, but his training kicked in.
"This is a real change of pace from corpsmen school," he said. "I learned how important organization is during combat."
Kmetz said the group that went through the exercise with Jones did well.
"They quickly identified casualties, made assessments, medevaced the injured and set up a rapid triage."
Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. To comment on this story or to read other's comments go to jdnews.com.
Ellie
LINDELL KAY
DAILY NEWS STAFF
An improvised explosive device goes off with a thundering sound, sending debris and smoke through a building filled with U.S. troops and hostiles. U.S. Marines storm the building, clearing it of hostiles.
Navy corpsmen are right behind them checking for survivors. They find several Marines seriously injured and some dead. The injured Marines are confused and uncooperative.
As the corpsmen drag the injured Marines out of the smoking building, one of the Marines grips the severed left leg of his dead sergeant.
"I got Gunny's leg! I got Gunny's leg!" he screams.
Another Marine begins to shout in his native Spanish, making it hard for the corpsmen to understand what is wrong with him.
Everywhere the corpsmen look, someone needs their help.
Except these corpsmen aren't in Iraq or Afghanistan, they are in the middle of a training exercise at Camp Johnson.
The Marines the corpsmen are treating are either high-tech mannequins that can bleed and produce vital signs or training personnel fixed up with Hollywood-like makeup to simulate casualties in a combat situation.
"All of this is a tool to get (the corpsmen) ready for the field," said Lt. Carmen Rowe, an instructor at Field Medical Training Battalion. "This introduces them to the stress of casualty assessment on the battlefield."
Once the corpsmen have pulled the injured out of the building, they set up a triage station where their training really kicks into gear.
The exercise teaches the corpsmen investigative medical treatment, said Chief Thomas Kmetz, a trainer with the program.
"Sometimes there might be a Marine covered in a lot of blood and yet not actually be injured," he said. "Proper triage is vital. In a cold-hearted world, Marines die if a corpsman is wasting time and supplies on the wrong guy."
Kmetz said the exercise is the culmination of seven weeks of training for new corpsmen who will be shipping out for Iraq or Afghanistan within the next six months.
"This is designed to stress these corpsmen out as much as possible," Kmetz said. "We would rather see them fail here because of stress than out on the battlefield."
The mock injuries the corpsmen treat are based on statistical data gathered from actual combat situations, said Lt. J. Rosario.
In Iraq, most of the Marine casualties do not involve gunfire, but injuries sustained from flying shrapnel or debris after an IED is set off, Rosario said.
"We are seeing that amputations are not the norm any longer. In large-scale conflict, arms and legs are usually blown off. In Iraq and Afghanistan, we are seeing more injuries from shrapnel and debris," he said. "Corpsmen need to be able to deduce who needs the most help and who needs help first."
Kmetz said the realistic injuries are something new corpsmen have never been exposed to and more than likely could not imagine.
"They thought they had all the intel, but on a battlefield, intel is ever-changing," Kmetz said.
Hospitalman James Jones, a new corpsman who went through the exercise, said he was initially shocked by what he saw, but his training kicked in.
"This is a real change of pace from corpsmen school," he said. "I learned how important organization is during combat."
Kmetz said the group that went through the exercise with Jones did well.
"They quickly identified casualties, made assessments, medevaced the injured and set up a rapid triage."
Contact police reporter Lindell Kay at lkay@freedomenc.com or 910-554-8534. To comment on this story or to read other's comments go to jdnews.com.
Ellie