Soldiers refresh combat lifesaving skills

U.S. Army Reserve soldiers from the 13th PsychologicalOperations (PSYOP) Battalion and the 319th PSYOP Company refreshed basicwarrior skills during a combat lifesaver course (CLS) at a Medical SimulationTraining Center (MSTC) at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, July 18, 2019.

John Flood, the training site lead for the course said thethree-to-four day certification, or annual re-certification, consists ofclassroom and practical exercise training.

The instructors evaluated soldiers on their ability toassess casualties on simulated high-stress training lanes. The first portion ofthe training lane included a care under fire situation with low visibility fromthick simulated smoke. Next, the soldiers dragged casualty mannequins to acovered location to perform tactical field care while instructors stood nearbyevaluating soldiers’ assessment skills and occasionally shouting reminders.

“While we’re evaluating…we allow our students to flail, butwe don’t let them fail,” said Flood, who is also a U.S. Army Reserve soldier inthe 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

After the first training lane of the morning, Staff Sgt.Trevor Corbin, a student in the class from the 13th PSYOP Bn. in Arden Hills,Minnesota, described how he felt during the exercise despite previously takingthe course before deployment in 2013.

“A lot of stuff was coming back to me in the [classroom]course, but then…out there, I was kind of out of breath, and just like,‘Woah!’” said Corbin who assessed mannequins with mechanical limbs, open woundsand gushing fake blood, that simulated real battlefield injuries during theexercise.

“For these guys, the majority of them haven’t seen a CLSclass or done anything CLS related within a couple years,” said Flood who spokeloudly over the pounding sound of gunfire and simulated screaming.

Sgt. Cody Thorburn, a participant in the class from the 13thPSYOP Bn., said he last completed CLS certification in basic training over sixyears ago.

“It got a little stressful. I was just trying to stay calm.I was a team leader so I was trying to keep everyone else calm and justbreathe, slow it down. Because you’ll do better if you just slow it down andtake it easy (rather) than getting frantic,” said Thorburn.

Thorburn said team leader tasks included checking in with soldiersto ensure proper assessment and calling a 9-line medical evacuation request.

Thurburn described the CLS class as being “a tremendousenhancement…to skills that we should all be familiar with and work onbuilding.”

The CLS class was just one of the warrior tasks completedduring annual training for the U.S. Army Reserve soldiers who also participatedin weapons qualification. The training allows soldiers to remain capable,lethal and combat ready.

Source: US Army Reserve