TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -- Marines from Company B, 6th Engineer Support Battalion, based in South Bend, Ind., participated in a combat lifesaver course at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., as part of the Integrated Training Exercise 4-13, June 17.
ITX, formally known as Javelin Thrust, is the largest annual Marine Corps Reserve training exercise, with more than 5,000 Marines participating from units across the United States. The combat lifesaver course is only a small part of the training taking place here.
The four-day course involves an array of life-saving techniques including hemorrhage control, maintaining casualty airway, managing penetrating chest injuries and shock casualties, treating heat and burn casualties, the application of splinting techniques and the assessment and evacuation of casualties.
When assessing a casualty, Navy Chief Hospital Corpsman Raul Valdez, certified CLS instructor from 23rd Marine Regiment in San Bruno, Calif., said the Marines are taught the acronym PMARCHP. It stands for: patient movement, massive bleeding, airway, respiratory, circulation, head treatment, and pain treatment.
“The acronym is something I use to help Marines remember the steps of assessing a casualty’s condition,” said Valdez, who has been teaching CLS for the past four years. “I like to give them a little bit of knowledge at a time. If you give them too much information at once, they begin to overthink things and forget steps.”
The training is accomplished through a combination of classroom and practical application exercises. After each subject was taught, the Marines were given a chance to act out the skills they just learned.
“This is the second time I’ve certified in the CLS program,” said Cpl. James Barth, a native of Chesterton, Ind. “Because of this class I’m pretty confident in my skills, should something go wrong in the field.”
Valdez agreed that the purpose of this course is for Marines to be comfortable assessing combat wounds.
“If a corpsman needs assistance or goes down, the Marine should be able to help,” he said.