{"id":36972,"date":"2018-03-01T20:47:06","date_gmt":"2018-03-01T20:47:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/01\/combat-medics-train-to-keep-the-wounded-alive-beyond-the-golden-hour\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:11:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:11:03","slug":"combat-medics-train-to-keep-the-wounded-alive-beyond-the-golden-hour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/your-army\/2018\/03\/01\/combat-medics-train-to-keep-the-wounded-alive-beyond-the-golden-hour\/","title":{"rendered":"Combat medics train to keep the wounded alive beyond the \u2018golden hour\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For the past two decades, Army combat medics<\/a> have been training to keep injured soldiers alive during firefights, but with the assumption that help is just a radio call away.
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That\u2019s a fair assessment in uncontested environments against enemies without comparable air or fire power, but as the service prepares for future battles against near-peer enemies<\/a>, the medical field is looking to train medics to handle injuries when it could be hours or even a day before a medevac<\/a> <\/a>can show up.
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\u201cI don\u2019t know if there\u2019s necessarily a comfortable way to fight a war, but if you have to fight a war knowing that there\u2019s an evacuation system available to pick you up within an hour, that\u2019s on par with civilian emergency response,\u201d Sgt. 1st Class Joey Hernandez, the lead instructor with the Army\u2019s new Expeditionary Combat Medic program, told Army Times in a Feb. 28 phone interview.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those days might be over soon, so Army medicine is looking \u201cbeyond the golden hour,\u201d Hernandez said, to give medics the tools to navigate a care plan beyond the initial triage of combat casualty care.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Army soldiers receive advanced medical training on Oct. 17, 2017, as they train at Fort Benning in Columbus,Ga. (John Bazemore\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Army first began developing what became the Expeditionary Combat Medic course back in 2009, Hernandez said, borrowing from special operations combat care training, as well as the Air Force and Navy\u2019s independent duty programs for enlisted first responders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With help from a group of 82nd Airborne soldiers, the Army began its first pilot of 10 68Ws last summer and graduated them in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The course\u2019s goal, Hernandez said, is to bridge the gap between a combat medic\u2019s basic knowledge and the care a wounded soldier would receive once they\u2019ve been transported to a battalion aide station, where a licensed professional could get to work.
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\u201cWe just don\u2019t have the capability to put a medical provider such as a physician\u2019s assistant or surgeon at that level for every possible company we\u2019re fielding in combat,\u201d he said.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the Army would like to have one ECM-qualified noncommissioned officer at every company-sized level or above throughout Army Forces Command units.
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\u201cIdeally this ECM can truly act as that senior enlisted medical advisor to their company commander,\u201d he said.<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Medics with the training would also be able to manage illness in similar conditions.
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\u201cA lot of it is also thorough medical assessment,\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cNinety percent of our working life isn\u2019t when bullets are flying, it\u2019s when somebody has the sniffles.\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To do that, the course teaches medics to look beyond the procedure for treating injuries or illnesses, to understand why they\u2019re doing what they\u2019re doing and how they can make adjustments in prolonged care, when they know they\u2019re not going to be able to hand a sick or wounded soldier off to a medevac quickly.
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\u201cWhat the next step is going to be after that?\u201d Hernandez said. \u201cNot just when to put the tourniquet on, but how long do I leave it on there? Do they need it the whole day?\u201d<\/font><\/p>\n\n\n\t