Reservists win first place in international medical competition

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Ann Peru Knabe
  • Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs
STAVANGER, Norway (AFNS) --  A team of Reserve officers earned first place in the Combat Casualty Care competition during the Interallied Allied Confederation of Reserve Officers annual Congress and Military Competition here.

USA Team 3 pulled top scores based on their ability to react quickly and assess and treat wounded Soldiers during a realistic scenario featuring live actors to simulate war injuries.

"Team 3's victory is significant because they are all senior Reserve officers, and it shows that our senior (leaders) still carry a tactical skill set as they progress in rank," said Maj. Gen. Robert J. Kasulke, U.S. vice president for the Interallied Confederation of Medical Reserve Officers (CIOMR). "Reservists need to know these life-saving skills regardless of rank and assignment."

Members of USA Team 3 said they found their military experiences and training extremely helpful and relevant during the international competition.

"Special operations forces inherently require a high degree of first-responder combat-casualty aid training," said Navy SEAL Cmdr. Grant Staats. "All U.S. SOF operators are skilled in field medicine far beyond conventional force individual capabilities. This training certainly helped us in the competition, but so did the U.S. CIOMR teams' focused training prior to Norway."

Lt. Col. Joel Winton agreed, pointing out the medical competition also enhanced his real-world deployment capabilities.

"The CIOMR medical competition significantly bolsters service component pre-deployment first aid/buddy care training," said Colonel Winton, who has participated in the competition for the last 11 years. "The realistic scenarios and multiple casualty problem sets presented in the competitions contributed directly to my 'life-saving competence' and confidence while in Iraq for the last six months."

This year's medical competition revolved around a scenario of an improvised explosive device strike. All of the CIOR competitors responded to a convoy IED attack and were judged on their combat casualty care. Following the attack each team found four injured Soldiers, including two potentially critical injuries: a victim with a pneumothorax hole in the chest wall under the armpit and a victim bleeding profusely from the femoral artery in the thigh.

"The competitors had to triage the wounded and quickly decide who to treat first," said Col. Lewis Neace, a reservist assigned to 10th Air Force who served as a judge. "In three minutes the victim would have bled to death, so the competitors had to administer a tourniquet."

The other injuries, including the chest wound, were less serious. The final two patients had fractures, loss of hearing from the blast and facial lacerations. The Norwegians chose the IED blast scenario wounds after studying statistics on the most common type of injuries in the war zone.

"The scenarios realistically simulated daily occurrences in Iraq and Afghanistan," Commander Staats said. "As a result, the CIOMR experience is of tremendous value to the readiness of our reservists, officers and enlisted, young and experienced."

The entire scenario lasted 20 minutes for each of the 41 teams.

"Most Soldiers going into hostile situations are issued first aid kits, and we want the scenarios to be as realistic as possible," said Col. Eileen Bonner, a CIOMR delegate who has participated in more than 25 CIOMR competitions, some of which she was responsible for planning. "The competition was well-run and an excellent training opportunity, and very relevant to what's going on in the field."

The teams are provided a training video and website information to brush up on their combat casualty care skills. Some reservists, like Army Capt. Daryl Remick, who is studying to be a doctor, bring additional "medical smarts" to the competition.

The Combat Casualty Care exercise is an adjunct to CIOR's larger competition that includes an obstacle course, a shooting competition, an orienteering exercise and other military skills.

"It's an amazing experience," Colonel Winton said. "The (Combat Casualty Care exercise) is relevant military training full of international camaraderie with a competitive edge. While it involves a certain amount of athletic ability and first aid knowledge, it's well worth the effort."