Tactical
Combat Casualty Care For Blue and Green
by Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune
Public Affairs October 20, 2018
Wielding a scalpel and watching the ragged rise and fall of his
“fallen brother’s” chest, Sgt. Major Charles Metzger, Marine Corps
Installations-East, began performing a tracheotomy on a mannequin
June 27, 2018, as he participated in Tactical Combat Casualty Care
training (TCCC) at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune (NMCCL).
Marine Corps Installations-East Sgt. Major Charles Metzger performs
a tracheotomy on a mannequin during a recent Tactical Combat
Casualty Care course at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune during
June 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune
Public Affairs)
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Metzger is not the first Marine to complete TCCC, but was the first
from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune’s higher echelon to get hands-on
experience of the course.
TCCC is a critical component of
combat training offered to Sailors at NMCCL.
The course
combines the use of sophisticated mannequins that bleed, breathe and
talk, as well as intensive classroom education to prepare Corpsmen
to tend to wounded service members while in the field.
“TCCC
is essential to establishing a care foundation for everyone to be
able to understand medical care on the battlefield,” said former
NMCCL Commanding Officer CAPT James Hancock.
Metzger
explained that while all Marines are required to complete a basic
Combat Lifesavers course before deploying, learning of additional
casualty care is beneficial.
Having every deployable service
member able to provide beyond basic trauma care is crucial to making
units lethal and effective.
“Going through this training
right here is invaluable,” said Metzger. “The one thing we cannot
lapse on in terms of training or budgetary restrictions is the
training of our Corpsmen. The realization is that we have one
Corpsman out there for 12 guys. Everybody has to have some kind of
intervention training out there. It [TCCC] is invaluable training.
It was a great training.”
The in-depth look into TCCC by
Metzger is an example of the collaboration NMCCL and Camp Lejeune
have been nurturing.
Sharing ideas on training courses and
curriculum can help establish vital readiness levels for any service
member aboard Camp Lejeune, Sailor and Marine alike.
Marines from Marine Corps Installations-East participate in a
Tactical Combat Casualty Care course at Naval Medical Center Camp
Lejeune during June 2018. (U.S. Navy photo by Naval Medical Center
Camp Lejeune Public Affairs)
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Marines currently have the opportunity to take TCCC through NMCCL,
as well as TNCC, ACLS, PALS and ATLS.
A mission of readiness
and partnerships has been established at NMCCL, which is supported
by Metzger and Marines frequently participating in TCCC trainings.
Continued elaborated partnerships with the Marine Corps will
allow for the Marines to potentially create a similar program,
increasing the amount of TCCC-like training being conducted for all
deploying service members beyond Corpsmen.
Allowing trainings
like TCCC to blend between branches aids in the common goal when
“downrange”, LCDR Colleen Abuzeid, Director of Staff Education and
Training, explained.
“In the end we are one team. We should
be working together to achieve the common goal. If someone is an
established expert in their field you seek their assistance to learn
and build upon your knowledge and skills. That is what we are
doing,” said Abuzeid. “We rely on the Marines to help us learn how
to handle a weapon down range, they rely on us to not only care for
them but provide them with skills to keep themselves and their
buddies alive should they become injured.”
U.S. Department
of Defense
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