By Staff Sgt. Jordan P. Snow,
133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
RICHMOND, Ky. – Soldiers of the 617th Military Police Company, Rear Detachment, conducted casualty evacuation training on Blue Grass Army Depot Aug. 12.
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A UH-60 Black Hawk crew from
Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 147th Aviation Air Assault joined in the training
to aid in the simulation of transporting the “injured” to a hospital after
Soldiers rendered first aid.
“We are training the next
generation to win our wars,” said Sgt. 1st Class Bradford K. Stone, 617th
Military Police Rear Detachment. “Field medicine is an important part of evaluating
casualties and treating trauma.”
Major Jessica Miller, Brigade
training officer 63rd Theatre Aviation Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters
Company and, spoke about the differences in casualty evacuation and medical
evacuation.
“Right now, it is really important that the helicopter crew chief and pilots explain the differences between MEDIVAC (medical evacuation) and CASEVAC (casualty evacuation),” said Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Raby, readiness non-commissioned officer with the 617. “It is important that they come out of this knowing that with a CASEVAC we don’t have a hoist, we can’t load a litter and we don’t have a medic on board.”
Soldiers in the 24-person
rear detachment took turns pulling security duty around the landing site, rendering
first aid to simulated injuries, sending 9-line medical evacuation requests
over the radio, and loading into the helicopter before taking off to circle the
training area provided by the Bluegrass Army Depot giving each Soldier a chance
to get familiar with the tasks.
“I want to build up my confidence with the radio communications and learn to work better with the team,” said Pfc. Nathan York.
Taking the opportunity to encourage retention, the 617th invited Sgt. Alex Kropf, 307th Support Maintenance Company, 149th Brigade Support Battalion to the training and reenlist for six years. Kropf took his oath of extension in front of the Black Hawk and then enjoyed a flight around the local area in the helicopter.
Also present for the training
were Chaplain (MAJ) Joshua Stine, Acting 149th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade
Chaplain, and 2nd Lt. Joshua Gorczyca, chaplain candidate from the 198th Military
Police Co.
“It’s about being there for
them and checking in,” said Gorczyca, emphasizing the importance the Chaplain Corps
places on being present and meeting the Soldiers where they are.
The training for the rear
detachment not only helped them hone their skills, it was a chance for them to stay
involved while the rest of the unit is currently working on a mission at the
south western border.
“The 617th MP Companies are
currently working the southwest border mission and we are very proud of them,”
said Raby. “Our hope is when the unit comes back we will have a rear detachment
ready to mend in with them. We want to
show them that, ‘Hey, we’ve been training while you’ve been gone’ and that we
are giving them our best.”