FORT CARSON, Colo. — Sgt. Alexander Jimenez, right, clinic medical sergeant, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, shouts at Spc. Anthony Bell, center, 22nd Human Resources Company, 4th STB, 4th SB, 4th Inf. Div., to add stress during the 40-hour Combat Lifesaver Course Oct. 18, 2019, at the Army Reserve Center on Fort Carson. The Soldiers needed to demonstrate that they could perform lifesavings skills while under pressure. (Photo by Sgt. James Geelen)
Story and photos by Sgt. James Geelen
4th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
FORT CARSON, Colo. — “Rough Riders” of 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, recently completed the 40-hour Combat Lifesaver Course that consisted of both classroom instruction and a trauma scenario for Soldiers to apply what they learned in class.
According to Staff Sgt. Bliss M. King, senior medic, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th SB, 4th Inf. Div., the CLS course is recognized doctrinally as the “bridge between the first aid training given to all Soldiers during basic training and the medical training given to combat medics. The CLS-certified Soldiers can assist combat medics in providing care and preparing casualties for evacuation when they have no other combat duties to perform.”
“We teach them M.A.R.C.H., (meaning) massive bleeding, airway, respiration, circulation, and hypothermia,” King said. “They have to learn those steps in order, because the wrong intervention at the wrong time can kill someone.”
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Spc. Jaylin Benton, left, and Sgt. David Brumback, right, prepare to move a simulated casualty, Staff Sgt. Charles Arnold, during the 40-hour Combat Lifesaver Course Oct. 18, 2019, at the Army Reserve Center at Fort Carson. All three Soldiers are with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. A total of 32 Soldiers from the brigade recently completed the course and now have the knowledge to help save a life. (Photo by Sgt. James Geelen)
The class did not just focus on physical injuries, as the brigade’s chaplain also discussed being aware of the signs of suicide.
“Suicide awareness is vital in today’s Army because we are increasingly in danger of losing our most valuable asset, the Soldier,” said Maj. Edward W. Wright, brigade chaplain, HHC, 4th STB, 4th SB, 4th Inf. Div. “My hope and intent in doing suicide prevention/awareness training is to aid in preventing another suicide, and to get the Soldiers to recognize that having a suicidal thought is somewhat normal, especially when Soldiers are going through so much stress in their life. But I also want to bring the many resources to their attention and remind them that there’s always another day; there’s always hope.”
Pvt. Dashad Morton, human resources specialist, 22nd Human Resources Company, 4th STB, 4th SB, 4th Inf. Div., believes the course will benefit all Soldiers.
“I think this class will help because a lot of things happen when Soldiers are both on and off duty,” Morton said. “The medics are teaching you things that might seem crazy but you’re going to … know how to help save another person’s life.”
At the end of the weeklong training, the Soldiers conducted CLS certification drills under stress to test their ability to use the techniques and prepare them to apply the methods in a real-world scenario.
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Sgt. Giobany Martinez secures a chest seal to simulated casualty Pfc. Anthony Nanes during the 40-hour Combat Lifesaver Course at the Army Reserve Center at Fort Carson Oct. 18, 2019. Both Soldiers are with 22nd Human Resources Company, 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. At the end of the training, the Soldiers conducted certification drills to test their ability to use the techniques in a real-world environment. (Photo by Sgt. James Geelen)
“I cannot sit back and be gentle, I have to add the pressure so that way we know they’re capable of performing when they’re getting shot at,” said Sgt. Alexander Jimenez, clinic medical sergeant, HHC, 4th STB, 4th SB, 4th Inf. Div. “I think that (a combat lifesaver) is way more important than a medic, because you’re not always going to have a medic right there with you. The nearest medic could be 10 or 15 minutes away, and, without immediate care, the wounded would not survive that scenario.”