“MASCAL training stresses these systems to the max by overloading a company and a battalion’s medical assets.”
— Capt. Kyle Pernelli
By 1st Lt. Dan Lee
3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, are treated during a mass casualty exercise May 20, 2018. (Photo by 1st Lt. Dan Lee)
FORT CARSON, Colo. — While tankers, infantrymen and Soldiers who specialize in massive explosions get much of the spotlight, it’s the medics who must step up and fulfill a crucial role when the mission does not go as planned.
While the combat arms Soldiers trained on various platforms, the Soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment “Silver Lions,” 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, took advantage of the opportunity to respond to a simulated mass casualty (MASCAL) event during a combined arms live fire exercise throughout the month of May 2018.
The purpose of the training was to validate the medics’ ability to effectively respond to multiple casualties in a realistic but simulated combat scenario. During the heat of the day, a tank company dug into its defensive positions and engaged the opposing forces, ultimately sustaining eight simulated casualties.
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Staff Sgt. Jennifer York, center, medical platoon sergeant, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, treats a patient May 20, 2018, with intravenous fluids during a mass casualty exercise. (Photo by 1st Lt. Dan Lee)
“MASCAL training stresses these systems to the max by overloading a company and a battalion’s medical assets,” said Capt. Kyle Pernelli, commander, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Bn., 68th Armor Reg., 3rd ABCT. “Furthermore, this forces units to conduct buddy aid, triage at multiple echelons and to evacuate casualties to the appropriate level of care.”
Typically, casualty evacuation is often defined as starting at the point of injury, where the Soldier is physically injured. Upon immediate rendering of buddy aid, the injured Soldier will receive immediate medical attention, usually with a tourniquet or by applying bandages.
“The initial treatment buys the casualty critical time on the battlefield until the unit’s medic is able to asses and treat the casualty,” said Pernelli. “At this point the Soldier, based on the medic’s assessment, is either evacuated to the next level of care organic to the battalion or an even higher level of care.”
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Spc. Jefferson Moreira, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, stabilizes a patient during a mass casualty exercise May 20, 2018. (Photo by 1st Lt. Dan Lee)
Quick decision making is crucial when aiding an injured Soldier, and the medical platoon located at Role I knows just how important timing is to save lives.
“Here at Role I, we focus on basic stabilization,” said Staff Sgt. Jennifer York, platoon sergeant, 3rd ABCT.
“We’re the first line from the point of injury,” said York. “Ultimately, without stabilization the injured Soldiers may not even make it to Role II. With that, we’re contributing to the mission by returning our Soldiers back to the fight as fast as possible.”
Injured Soldiers are transported to more intensive care either by medical evacuation or casualty evacuation.
“If a Soldier is transported in a dedicated medical evacuation platform, which is equipped with tools and materials to provide medical treatment, the evacuation is called a MedEvac (medical evacuation),” said Pernelli. “The alternate method of transporting casualties from the point of injury to the next level of care is through the use of non-dedicated medical evacuation platforms. This process is referred to as CasEvac (casualty evacuation). In either instance, we strive to get a Soldier from the point of injury to a higher echelon of care within one hour.”
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Spc. Jefferson Moreira, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, stabilizes a “patient” during a mass casualty exercise May 20, 2018. (Photo by 1st Lt. Dan Lee)
Often referred to as the “golden hour,” this narrow window of time is critical to saving Soldiers’ lives in combat and is the planning factor used to determine where all medical assets are arrayed on the battlefield.
“Once a Soldier has made it to a battalion aid station with a physician’s assistant (Role I) or to the brigade’s Role II with a surgeon, we have accomplished our mission in drastically increasing the life expectancy of our teammate,” said Pernelli.
The realm of medical care provided to one Soldier can seem overwhelming, but ultimately it trains the whole organization in lifesaving skills from an individual Soldier up to advanced care at the brigade level.
“The greatest challenge my team had to face during this training event was supporting the battalion in multiple geographic locations,” said Pernelli. “Our Soldiers maintained their discipline throughout the demanding exercise and rose to every challenge. We are ready for whatever the mission calls for next.”
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Staff Sgt. Jennifer York, medical platoon sergeant, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, treats a patient with intravenous fluids during a mass casualty exercise May 20, 2018. (Photo by 1st Lt. Dan Lee)