CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan -- Corpsmen with 3rd Medical Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, completed the Tactical Combat Casualty Care course March 12 at the III MEF Medical Simulations Training Facility here.
The course refreshes corpsmen’s combat medical support skills in a simulated combat situation.
Though corpsmen’s main objective is medical treatment, they also must be able to maneuver in combat environments, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Sajjan M. Cordy, a corpsman and training instructor for 3rd Medical Bn.
“The course develops the corpsman’s skills and abilities in emergency medical care, evacuation and treatment of trauma casualties using tactical combat care during combat operations,” Cordy said.
It is important for corpsmen to known how to carry out their job under fire, agreed many of the course instructors.
“There’s a huge difference between battlefield medicine and clinical medicine,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy Dunlap, program manager for the training facility. “Many corpsmen come straight from (initial training), get placed in an administration position and never touch a patient. We need corpsmen physically and mentally conditioned to face anything if they deploy.”
Dunlap said each phase of TCCC prepares sailors by putting them in chaotic scenarios that require their medical skills and their ability to defend themselves and their fellow troops.
“Often in combat, the unit may be under fire, and someone gets hurt, needing medical attention,” Dunlap said. “As a corpsman, you can’t just stop in the middle of hostile fire and start applying casualty care.”
Dunlap said corpsmen must ensure they and their casualties are clear of danger before providing full medical treatment.
In some situations, if a group is taking fire and a Marine or sailor is wounded but still coherent, the corpsman must talk the casualty through self-aid while continuing to send suppressive fire at the enemy, Dunlap said.
Once the enemy has been suppressed, the casualty can then be fully treated, he added.
During the phases of training, corpsmen had to reach their casualties while under simulated gunfire and bring them to a safe zone.
Once casualties are safely relocated, they must be treated for injuries such as hemorrhaging, broken limbs or other types of physical trauma, Cordy said.
After corpsmen apply any field treatment, casualties must then be protected until transportation arrives to move them to the nearest battalion aid station, he added.
Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Nunez, Fleet Marine Force coordinator for 3rd Medical Bn., said it is impossible to anticipate when a firefight will ensue, and it is important that all corpsmen are combat ready.
“Sometimes it may just be one corpsman to a 20-vehicle convoy, so he is responsible for the medical welfare of all those troops if they get hurt,” Nunez said. “He or she can’t afford to be [lackadaisical] on training when lives are at stake.”
According to Nunez, TCCC trains the corpsmen to do their job and still stay in the fight.
For more information about the TCCC course or to schedule training, contact the III MEF Medical Simulations Training Facility on Camp Hansen at 623-4119.