47th BSB medics cap off NIE

47th BSB medics cap off NIE: Medics of the 47th Brigade Support Battalion assess and treat role players acting as casualties during a “capstone” Network Integration Evaluation 12.2 event June 4. Medics participated in events to close out the NIE. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mike C. Norris, 4th BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs.

Sgt. Benjamin Kullman,
24th Press Camp Headquarters:

Quickly evaluating simulated casualties and administrating quality care, medics of the 47th Brigade Support Battalion finished the last two scenarios of the Network Integration Evaluation 12.2, a series of evaluations designed to further integrate, mature and modernize the Army’s tactical network, during a final evaluation during the week of June 4.

For the past several weeks, these medics, along with several other units, have participated in combat scenarios to evaluate future Army equipment and hone the skills they will need on the battlefield.

After two events, an ambush and an attack on a village, the medics unloaded casualties and assessed their injuries at the casualty collection point and triage center outside of their medical bay. Once the assessment was complete, the patients in most need were moved inside to be treated by the medical personnel standing by to render aid. Although this was only the latest in a series of scenarios since April, the medics were still put to the test with each patient.

Medics with the least experience were mentored, quizzed and advised on the appropriate course of action, by officers and other Soldiers with more practical field experience, as they worked on each of the wounded. Once the subject was stabilized the medics called outside, informing those working at the collection point that there was an open bed and another victim was quickly brought inside.

Medics of the 47th Brigade Support Battalion assess and treat role players acting as casualties during a “capstone” Network Integration Evaluation 12.2 event June 4. Medics participated in events to close out the NIE. Photo by Staff Sgt. Mike C. Norris, 4th BCT, 1st AD Public Affairs.

“For some, this will be the first [scenario]; for others it’ll be the 12th,” said Capt. Jose Serrano, surgeon with the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, acting as one of the senior medical technicians in the treatment center.

The casualties who are treated by the medics are portrayed by a mixture of role players; some are fellow Soldiers while others are civilians. Some of the civilian volunteers are actual amputees and added a sense of heightened realism to some of the injuries. Several of the medics involved in the exercise expressed how the inclusion of the amputees and the realistic makeup effects added a lot to the training value.

“This is the kind of stuff I like,” said Spc. Bradley Haven, a medic with 47th BSB, reflecting on the training he has accomplished over the past six weeks and echoing the sentiment of many of the Soldiers he works with. “I shine in the field – I enjoy being in the field.”

Although Haven has not deployed, he said he feels the time he spent in Korea and the training throughout NIE and other field exercises has better prepared him for a combat tour.

“We actually had a lot of injuries in Korea. I actually got a lot of good training,” said Haven.

Once the casualties were treated and the scenario was complete, the medics, along with their senior advisers and other civilian emergency medical technicians acting as advisers and instructors, discussed each case in turn and evaluated the diagnosis and care given to each patient. This type of instruction, like most field problems, allows for the continued improvement of the Soldiers and the development of crucial skills that could save lives in the future.

“It should just be natural instinct to do it,” said Haven. “When it gets to a stressful situation, like a real stressful situation, everything just kicks in.”

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