NEW CASTLE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Del. -- The 166th Medical Group, hosted its first ever Trauma Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) course. Twelve students attended, 11 from the 166th Airlift Wing and one from the 436 Medical Group (MDG) at Dover Air Force Base. Instructors from the 166th MDG, the 142nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (AES), 436th MDG, and Cooper Medical Center jointly provided deployed and real world medical-based simulation and didactic training.
TCCC is an intense 16-hour training curriculum and is a required reportable readiness task for all Air Force Medical Technicians (4N0s/4N1s). The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) provides course oversite in conjunction with the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) Deployed Medicine group. The course curriculum is evidence based with annual inputs from the DOD’s Joint Trauma System research system. TCCC focuses on preparing medics to treat trauma-related battlefield injuries based on three phases of care: care under fire, tactical field care, and evacuation.
In the final training scenarios, the students were tested on all three phases. Students were stress inoculated and were issued ballistic vests, helmets, and training weapons. All students experienced three different combat related scenarios with additional stressors to include: the 95-degree heat of July, darkness, extreme noise, lack of preparation, confusion, new skills, and unfamiliar equipment. All students completed the field exercises where they gained medical confidence, learned valuable new skills, and experienced a newfound comradery.
Supporting the course were four instructor candidates from various organizations, TSgt Leslie Hamill from the 166th MDG, SMSgt Brian Florian and MSgt Alex Galien from the 142 AES, and TSgt Chris Foster an active duty IDMT from the 436 MDG, Dover AFB. Drastically enhancing the training were the instructors’ diverse backgrounds in civilian EMS, deployment, and training experiences. As they become instructors, they build a pool of Delaware cadre for future instruction.
COVID 19 provided an additional challenge in the training environment. All students and instructors were adaptable and followed CDC, TAG, and wing guidance to maintain social distancing, health and safety all while obtaining invaluable training.