Scott Sturkol Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office
Marines and Navy Corpsmen with 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines (2/24), conducted a casualty care field exercise July 22-23 on North Post at Fort McCoy as part of their annual training.
The 2/24 is an infantry battalion based out of Chicago consisting of approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors. The battalion falls under the 23rd Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.
The training included mainly 2/24 Corpsmen conducting patrols with unit Marines serving as opposing forces. The “contact patrols” gave the medics an opportunity to get in some necessary field training while at the same time practicing their combat medical skills.
“This was an effort to train on prolonged casualty care,” said Medical Officer Navy Lt. Toby Keeney-Bonthrone with the 2/24’s Headquarters and Service Company. “They had to move to the casualty, stabilize him, and then transport him to an exfiltration point over a 24-hour time period while constantly monitoring him.”
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The training was conducted in hot weather and overnight in a wooded and hilly training area on North Post. Keeney-Bonthrone said the terrain presented an extra challenge.
“It definitely made it tougher,” he said. “There was the rough terrain and the steep elevation to get to the casualty and then those afternoon temperatures.”
Afternoon temperatures on July 22 hovered around 90 degrees and humidity was also high. Keeney-Bonthrone said they kept on … that is until a major thunderstorm halted all training on post on July 23.
Overall, though, he said everyone did well.
“You have to train like you fight,” Keeney-Bonthrone. “So, the more realism, the better the corpsmen are prepared for combat. We got to constantly reinforce principles of tactical medical care under stressful conditions with a realistic mannequin generously provided by the McCoy Medical Simulation Training Center.
“In addition, we had a team of five Marines with us to act as opposing forces and tactical mentors,” he said. “We gave them free reign on how to attack us and that creative element does wonders for both morale and training value.”
According to the Navy description for a hospital corpsman at https://www.navy.com/careers/hospital-corpsmana corpsman can “have the most diverse range of work environments available in the Navy.”
“Your job will likely take you all over the world — and far out of your comfort zone. As a Hospital Corpsman, you could be assigned to a Navy medical treatment facility, like an on-base hospital or clinic. You could also work on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean or a submarine in the depths of the sea. Wherever you’re assigned, you’ll work alongside other medical professionals to be trained as a skilled first responder, whether your skills are needed bedside or in the field.”
And Navy hospital corpsman are also assigned to work alongside and train with Marine Corps units as well. In a story from June 22 at www.marines.mil by Staff Sgt. Timothy Turner with the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade about the 124th Navy hospital corpsman birthday, that relationship is explained well.
“For the last 124 years, Navy Hospital Corpsmen have served alongside Marines and sailors in every clime and place; in the field and in garrison; in training and in conflicts spanning the globe. Navy Corpsmen derive their name from the US Navy’s Hospital Corps. Established on June 17, 1898, the Hospital Corps enabled the Navy to provide formal sailors medical training,” the article states.
“After passing Navy basic training, sailors move on to Hospital Corps School, where they learn things like first aid, emergency medicine, anatomy, hygiene and how to operate medical equipment,” the article states. “Finally, Corpsmen are assigned to Naval hospitals, ships, or air centers. A select few then train to operate alongside the Fleet Marine Force or the ‘Green side.’”
Learn more about the Marine Corps by visiting https://www.marines.mil.
In Photos: Fort McCoy and Volk Field through the years
Governor Scott McCallum salutes Sergeant First Class Charles Zehner of the Wisconsin National Guard Second Battalion 127th Infantry based in Appleton, Wis. before presenting him with the Battalion Level Supply Excellence Award 200 during proceedings at the Governor’s Day Review at Fort McCoy.
Peter Thomson, La Crosse Tribune
Soldiers of the 1775th Military Police Company of the Michigan Army National Guard crawl under doors and windows while training at Fort McCoy’s urban warfare complex. PETER THOMSON
PETER THOMSON
F-16 fighter jets fly over Fort McCoy during the Governor’s Day Review ceremony.
Peter Thomson, La Crosse Tribune
The annual Red Dragon chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear training excercise was held Saturday, Aug. 10, 2013, at Fort McCoy. Red Dragon is the Army Reserve’s only CBRN training excercise. (Rory O’Driscoll/La Crosse Tribune)
Rory O’Driscoll
Staff Sgt. Aaron Brown, a member of the 458th Army Reserve Unit visits with his brother, Nick Brown, right, and his nephews, 2-week old Sawyer Brown and 14-month old Spencer Brown, at a send-off ceremony at the National Guard Armory in Onalaska, Wis. The 458th headed to Fort McCoy for training after the ceremony. PETER THOMSON
PETER THOMSON
Members of the 32nd Military Police Company are given a send off Tuesday, March 18, 2003 as they move on to Fort McCoy prior to overseas deployment. The noon hour event was at the Wisconsin National Guard Headquarters, 2400 Wright St., in Madison, Wis. Pvt. Courtney Pfad, 19, got support from her stepfather James Tsikretsis, left, and mother Karen Tsikretsis, of Fort Atkinson. WSJ photo/Joseph W. Jackson III PUBLISHED CAPTION 3-19-03 Courtney Pfad, 19, gets hugs Tuesday from her stepfather, James Tsikretsis, and her mother, Karyn Tsikretsis, before leaving Madison for Fort McCoy.
JOSEPH W. JACKSON III
Members of the 37th engineers out of Fort Bragg, NC, parachute out of a C130 at Fort McCoy, Wis. The division is on it’s way to Nicaragua to build schools and health care clinics in Operation New Horizons. Erik Daily
ERIK DAILY
Soldiers from the 829th Engineer Company listen to speakers during their deployment ceremony at Fort McCoy. The Wisconsin National Guard soldiers were heading to Afganistan to tear down buildings and recover unused equipment from past deployments.
Erik Daily
Lt. Colonel Bryan Much, Commander of the Wisconsin National Guard 1st Battalion, 126th Field Artillery gives visitors to Fort McCoy an overview of the base during a tour of annual training exercises Wednesday, Aug. 18, 1999.
JIM SLOSIAREK
A sign warns motorists traveling at Fort McCoy that a tank crossing is approaching, Monday August 12, 2002 at Fort McCoy, Wis.
RON KUENSTLER
Sgt. 1st Class Paul Honek, with the 229th Engineer Company, assigns soldiers their stations at the firing range at Fort McCoy. PETER THOMSON
PETER THOMSON
Steve McQuaid, Darlington, Wis., and his fiance, Jacque Lauer, Wyocena, are reunited at Volk Field. 150 soldiers from the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 32nd Military Police Company returned from Iraq Friday, July 23, 2004, at Volk Field near Fort McCoy, Wis. WSJ/John Maniaci
JOHN MANIACI
Fort McCoy Commander Col. Micheal R. Staszak. Dick Riniker photo
DICK RINIKER
Scott Wood, of Madison, kisses his wife, Megan Tellijohn, after being reunited. 150 soldiers from the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 32nd Military Police Company returned from Iraq Friday, July 23, 2004, at Volk Field near Fort McCoy, Wis.
JOHN MANIACI
Members of the 147th make their way to waiting families Wednesday September 10, 2003, most of the 205 member of the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 147 Command Aviation Battalion who deployed to Kuwait in March 2003 returned to Volk Field.
STEVE APPS
Friends and family wait for soldier from the Wisconsin Army National Guard’s 32nd Military Police Company, returning from Iraq Friday, July 23, 2004, at Volk Field.
JOHN MANIACI
10-year old Tyler Brudos of DeSoto, Wis., sits atop a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer, complete with his dog tags and camouflaged face, while experiencing Armed Forces Day Open House at Fort McCoy
.
