October 06, 2008
Marine Corps News|by Cpl. Aaron Rooks

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Every Marine is familiar with the phrase “Corpsman up,” which is not unusual being that the phrase has been screamed by thousands of Marines, from a multitude of generations after generations, in wars waged through trenches, jungles, cities, deserts and mountains.

But what should Marines of today do if a comrade goes down and the Corpsman gets injured himself, or if there is simply not a Corpsman around to hear the phrase “Corpsman up?” How would the motor transport driver or the food service specialist react when all they know is the basics of being a rifleman and the fundamentals of their jobs?

The Combat Life Saver Course taught a group of Marines from the 2nd Marine Logistics Group the answers to those potential questions that they could face on today’s battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

“An individual corpsman can only effectively treat one to three Marines. Any more than that, we will be stretched thin, and the casualty’s chance of survival will be decreased,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Gabriel Florez, a hospital Corpsman with 2nd Medical Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, 2nd MLG. “Because of this, Marines need to know the basic life-saving procedures that have been proven to save lives in a combat environment.”

The Phoenix native says the course does just that; it’s designed to teach Marines what they need to know in order to save the life of a comrade when their “life-lines” are injured, or indisposed treating other servicemembers? In less than a one week, the Marines learn everything from treating for hemorrhages, burns, shock, broken bones and breathing obstructions, to performing evacuation procedures, administering intravenous therapy and providing care while under fire.

Florez has served as lead instructor for the course since February 2008. In this time, he has conducted more than 1,664 hours of training, he and has seen hundreds of Marines come through the halls of 2nd Medical to learn all of the basic knowledge involved in emergency medical care

“We’ve trained more than 500 deploying Marines since February of this year, and it’s been a good first step for those Marines,” Florez said. “They’ve learned a good, in-depth familiarization with the most common battlefield injuries that are killing people such as collapsed lungs, arterial bleeding, obstructed airways.”

When deployed to Iraq in 2005, where he served as a casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) corpsman, Florez saw the reasons himself first-hand as to why deploying Marines should know how to perform emergency medical procedures. Throughout his daily tours of duty, he would play the role of an in-flight corpsman, evacuating injured Marines, Sailors, civilians and even enemy combatants from the frontlines of battle by helicopter.

One casualty evacuation he participated in was not as successful as the usual though. This operation involved the lives of six soldiers who were being transported to Camp Taqaddum, Iraq. There were three in the front of the aircraft, three in the rear, but Florez was forced to only focus on one.

“I needed the aerial observer to provide rescue breathing for one patient while I checked on the others,” Florez remembers. “Because he didn’t know how to properly provide emergency breathing, it decreased my ability to treat the other individuals. If he knew and was trained in how to provide common medical procedures like that, I could have spent more time caring for the other patients.”

Lexington, S.C., native, Petty Officer 2nd Class Pietro Christofoli, who is also a hospital corpsman with 2nd Medical, agrees with Florez’s views on the training Marines need to tend to their own when they have no other choice. He said that when comparing year one of the Iraq War to the fourth and fifth year, events show that each subsequent year the enemy found new ways to attack U.S. forces, which proves that as the casualties increase, the need for Marines who are trained as emergency medics has to increase as well.

Christofoli feels that “everybody needs the training, and as more people are trained with treating others, more lives will be saved.” He said that if he were to ever be injured on the battlefield, he would hope that a Marine out there with him would have the knowledge necessary to save his life.

So where to begin? Both instructors agree that the students must first understand the importance of gaining the medical knowledge before they can adequately retain and understand the concepts and procedures. This foundation, they said, comes in the first day of the course. Florez said that a lot of the Marines “don’t understand why they are in the course,” many of whom say something to the effect of “I’m a driver or I’m a mechanic, I’m not a corpsman.”

Florez added that the instructors have to try and get the students to realize the importance of the course, otherwise they simply won’t have their attention. To do this, he said they just ask them a question that points out the obvious. He would ask, “How many corpsman are in your company? So what would you do if the one corpsman with you was injured or killed?” He said from this point on, they have their attention.

“With this training, you can save a life,” said Sgt. Manuel Ahumada, the assistant environmental compliance coordinator for 2nd MLG, who is originally from Tuscan, Ariz., and is currently taking part in the course. “It’s those first stabilizing steps that make a difference. The Marines are going to be the first responders on scene when something goes wrong, the corpsman might not even find out what’s happening for several minutes.”

Christofoli said the next step after explaining why the Marines need this knowledge, is to let them practice. He explained that they never expect them to be proficient corpsman right off the bat, but that after they get some practice time in, roughly 16 hours worth, it gets easier for them.

“I feel a lot more confident now,” said Pittsburgh native Lance Cpl. Candace Aspeotes, a field radio operator with Communications Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd MLG, who has only been in the Marine Corps for a little more than one year, and has never experienced deployed life. “My fellow Marines needed this class because we are out there with the other Marines, and we can often become big targets. Before this course, I didn’t have the slightest clue about this stuff. Now I get it.”

Out of this week’s class of 12, seven were from Communications Company, all of whom volunteered to come. This shows a true progress for the course, and proves that more Marines understand the value and true effects of the course.

“More Marines should continue to look into this training,” Ahumada said. “You just never know when your corpsman could go down.”

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