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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Building Strong ®


579th Engineer Detachment (FEST-M) Global Support

Combat medical training provides soothing relief


by Mark Abueg
VICKSBURG, Miss. (Feb. 11, 2010) – Medic! I need a medic! These are words
you may have heard in the movies, but certainly not words you want someone
calling out for you in real life. What if there was no combat medic nearby? What
if all you had was your battle buddy whose specialty was being an engineer?
What could he or she do for you?

Army figures show that severe bleeding from an arm or leg, tension
pneumothorax, and airway obstruction continue to be the most preventable
causes of death in modern combat. If this is the case, it is imperative that your
battle buddy have some type of training to provide immediate care that can
save your life.

Soldiers and Civilians of the 579th Engineer Detachment (Forward Engineer Cassandra Reed, administrative assistant for the 579th
Engineer Detachment (FEST-M), opens the airway of Sgt.
Support Team - Main) learned to treat injured personnel on the battlefield during 1st Class Candido Aguilar, FEST-M senior construction
a Combat Lifesaver (CLS) course here for the past three days, Feb. 8-10. They supervisor using the head-tilt/chin lift procedure during a
simulated battlefield scenario. Spc. Jomichael D. Sanchez,
received the proper training to offer lifesaving measures as a secondary mission combat medic for the 46th Engineer Battalion, left, instructed
to their primary duties. the FEST-M on how to tactically manage a casualty during a
3-day Combat Lifesaver course. (Photo by Mark Abueg)

Spcs. Jomichael D. Sanchez and Cassandra H. Dutkiewicz, combat medics for the 46th Engineer Battalion based
out of Fort Polk, La., taught the CLS course, which Sanchez described as combat oriented first aid skills training.

“For individuals deploying, it’s a method or just kind of a mindset or order of how things should be done to get the
best results from … non-medical personnel in a combat environment,” he said.

According to provided CLS training data, around 90 percent of combat deaths occur on the battlefield before the
casualties reach a medical treatment facility. The harsh reality is that most of these deaths are inevitable because of
injuries such as massive trauma and massive head injuries.

It has been estimated that proper use of self-aid, buddy-aid, and combat lifesaver skills can reduce battlefield deaths
by 15 to 18 percent, according to the training data.

“If there’s someone right there who can give them basic first aid, it makes our job easier,” Dutkiewicz said.

The FEST-M may encounter harsh conditions during their overseas contingency operations, which is a fact that
makes this training much more important.

“We don’t know what we’re going to encounter and in case something does happen, one of us is going to have to
actually perform these life-saving skills and actually put to use this training we just received,” said Sgt. 1st Class
Candido Aguilar, FEST-M senior construction supervisor.

Even though the FEST-M won’t be on the ‘battlefield,’ the chances of an injury happening is a very random, sporadic
event, said Sanchez about his personal deployment.

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS – 579TH ENGINEER DETACHMENT (FEST-M)


4155 Clay Street, Suite 120, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39183-3435
Office: (601) 631-5987 | Cell: (540) 532-7735 | E-mail: mark.b.abueg@usace.army.mil
www.mvd.usace.army.mil/579festm
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“This last tour we had more people died on the FOB (forward operating base)
just going about their normal business than we had combat deaths out on field,
out on patrol, out on missions, so it’s a very, ‘you don’t know what could
happen when,’ and often times the medics are in a completely different area,
unavailable or probably the ones injured.” Sanchez said.

The Army recognizes that combat medics cannot be everywhere at one time.
The combat lifesaver is an important aspect of providing additional first aid to
injured personnel.
Spc. Jomichael D. Sanchez, combat medic for the 46th
Engineer Battalion, center, explains the necessities of a
nasopharyngeal airway (NPA) to members of the 579th
“That kind of mindset is really what a lot of the training focuses on is not
Engineer Detachment (FEST-M), after inserting it into the exposing yourself, but also just exposing that information on how you can treat
nasal pathway of Sgt. 1st Class Candido Aguilar, FEST-M
senior construction supervisor. Fellow instructor and combat these injuries we might not necessarily be able to get to before you can,”
medic, Spc. Cassandra H. Dutkiewicz, left, Jim Hynum, far Dutkiewicz said.
right, and Alfonso Santa observe during the Combat
Lifesaver course. (Photo by Mark Abueg)

U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS – 579TH ENGINEER DETACHMENT (FEST-M)


4155 Clay Street, Suite 120, Vicksburg, Mississippi 39183-3435
Office: (601) 631-5987 | Cell: (540) 532-7735 | E-mail: mark.b.abueg@usace.army.mil
www.mvd.usace.army.mil/579festm

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