By the Associated Press
Copyright 2007 Newsday, Inc.
RICHMOND, Va. — The Army will begin teaching combat lifesaving instruction during basic training to enable soldiers to give critical medical care to wounded comrades on the battlefield.
The service’s five basic training bases will begin teaching combat lifesaver training by June 15, including instruction on starting an IV and helping soldiers breathe through a tube, Army officials said. The bases train up to 180,000 soldiers annually, including National Guard and Reserve components.
Officials said medical care given immediately after injuries like gunshot wounds and those caused by bombs could mean the difference between life and death. Simple lifesaving techniques could cut down on long-term injuries and deaths, they said.
“The most critical 10 minutes in a soldier’s care in combat is the first 10 minutes,” said Col. Kevin A. Shwedo, director of operations, plans and training for the Army Accessions Command, which oversees training. “We’ve focused on the skills that would give us the greatest opportunity to evacuate an individual to a higher degree of health care.”
Previously, a limited number of soldiers in each unit were trained on advanced lifesaving procedures, and most soldiers only received basic first aid techniques, like bandaging and performing CPR.
More in-depth medical training can make the difference between bringing back a patient and bringing back a corpse, said Col. Patricia R. Hastings, director of the Army’s Department of Combat Medic Training based at Fort Sam Houston in Texas.
Soldiers at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and Fort Knox in Kentucky already have begun the training.
Col. Annie Baker, commander of the 434th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Sill, said after only 10 days at basic training, soldiers there started the combat lifesaver certification course, which includes sticking needles into each other to learn how to establish an IV.
“We’ve had some soldiers that have been very timid and concerned - because people don’t like shots - but not one soldier has not participated,” Baker said. “Some looked a little peaked going in there, but between the medics and the drill sergeants coaching and mentoring, they’ve gotten through it.”
Spc. John Hanson, 29, who was a paramedic before he began training at Fort Sill, said it is important to learn the skills, even if it means getting “poked by a complete stranger or someone you’ve only lived with for a couple of weeks.”
Hanson, who is from Arlington, S.D., said, “With more of us knowing how to help our buddies, maybe it will make for a more successful outcome.”