Soldiers from Company A, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, field carry a simulated casualty during Raider First Responder Combat Life Saver Course Feb. 26, 2016. (Photo by 1st Lt. Amanda Price)
By 1st Lt. Amanda Price
4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division
Twenty-four Soldiers from the 4th Brigade Support Battalion concluded a 40-hour combat lifesaver (CLS) course Feb. 26, 2016, to learn the basics of medical care on the battlefield.
Soldiers trained on how to apply a tourniquet and emergency trauma bandage, apply a chest seal and needle chest decompression bandage, apply a nasopharyngeal airway, treat for shock and call for a MedEvac.
The training was led by three CLS instructor-qualified Soldiers from Company C, 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
“Our goal is to teach casualty care to nonmedical personnel to save lives,” said Cpl. Jeffrey Rickard, health care specialist, Company C, 4th BSB. “Overall, it aids in combat readiness and preparedness.”
The CLS training was revamped and renamed “Raider First Responder” in 2013 and has since received positive feedback and been promoted outside of the 1SBCT.
“When we initially started, it was just within the battalion; but as the training became more successful word got out across the installation and we’ve begun training other units outside of our brigade,” said 1st Lt. Derek Remlinger, executive officer, Company C, 4th BSB. “We’ve actually given this course to the 1st Space Command and the Army National Guard 100th Defense Missile Brigade.”
Soldiers must bound up to a live patient in a field, apply a tourniquet, carry the patient back to cover to finish assessing, call in a MedEvac and field carry the patient to the vehicle or helicopter for transport.
The test lanes are set up to imitate what a Soldier might experience in a combat environment.
At the end of the week, 24 Soldiers left the training CLS qualified and equipped with the knowledge to conduct basic medical care.
“The training was very lifelike with a lot of realistic pressure that simulates what you would actually see in a combat zone,” said Pvt. Ashlyn McCrory, driver, Company A, 4th BSB. “I feel ready to apply these combat lifesaving skills in the field.”