OTIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mass. - The 102nd Civil Engineer Squadron hosted a Tactical Combat Casualty Care exercise Jan. 7 to prepare Airmen for deployment and ensure unit readiness on Otis Air National Guard Base.
During the training, Massachusetts National Guard members learned to effectively triage casualties with massive hemorrhages, head injuries, hypothermia, or other life-threatening injuries to their airways, respiratory and circulatory systems.
Small teams cleared buildings and provided medical care while undergoing the stress of a combat environment replicated by simulated fire from enemy role players, lighting and fog obstacles and combat-related sounds. They practiced rapidly responding to notional hostile forces, evaluating, taking cover, engaging or calling for emergency response teams.
Lt. Col. Christian Leighton, 102nd CES commander, initiated the event as a part of the squadron’s pre-deployment training.
The Cape Cod Regional Law Enforcement Council Special Weapons and Tactical Medics and members of the 102nd Medical Group joined the 102nd CES to share their expertise and walk members through each scenario.
“TCCC is extremely important for CE because that's one of my risk areas,” Leighton said. “CE is working with heavy equipment, electrical power tools, and, a lot of times, our job sites are in remote areas of bases that could be off-site. An Airman can get injured or wounded, and that's even just injured on the job or in an austere environment. Then throw in, you're in the heat, you can get tired, you're out in the sun and then the other complex of you could be under an attack.”
The teams facilitated TCCC while operating in mission-oriented protective posture gear (MOPP) and responding to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear elements. The 102nd Readiness and Emergency Management Flight prepared a simulated chemistry lab and decontamination room, followed by a black light inspection to assess the effectiveness of decontamination efforts.
“This was my first time that I've been given the opportunity to learn how to administer a TCCC while wearing MOPP gear, and it was a great opportunity to learn how to work as a team doing so,” said Senior Airman Michael Forni, 102nd CES member.