The second part of the day was a bit more interesting. For this exercise, our group of 30 people was split into teams of 10. Our objective was to secure our area, evacuate our casualties, perform the necessary medical interventions to stablize them, and medivac them out of the area via the incoming helicopters. Easy, right?...no problem. This exercise was performed outside in a makeshift "battle zone" compound. This would have been great, except for the fact that is had rained rather hard the night before and was drizzling today, making the ground sloppy and muddy. In order to simulate gunfire, we were given paintball guns to fire on the opposing forces (our instructors who were playing the bad guys and firing paintballs at us). There were also explosions, sirens, purple smoke and additional instructors yelling at us the whole time. Again, this was designed to provide distraction and chaos, similar to battle field conditions. As our team moved into the staging area, we were told there was a Hum-V hit by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) and there were 3 wounded soldiers, all taking enemy fire.
Next came a kick in the butt as we moved out the door and a "go gettem", for morale. Moving our way to the Hum-V, we returned fire on the enemy and strategically maneuvered to the crash site. After we arrived, the enemy (instructors) quit firing on us and we appreciated this... Now came what was easily the most difficult part, extracting the soldiers out of the vehicle. These were not real soldiers, but manikins weighing 180 lbs each. WOW!!! Combine the weight, smooth plastic manikins and sloppy wet mud, and you have a recipe for disaster. It was incredibly difficult removing these "soldiers" and once they were extracted, carrying them to a safe location was almost just as hard.
While two groups of 4 teammates each went with a soldier, myself and another teammate ended up caring for the third. The two larger groups had litters (stretchers) to carry out the soldiers while my little group had only ourselves. It's been a long time since I've worked so hard trying to hang on to a 180 lb object and carry it 150 feet...in full battle rattle...Oh wait, I've never done that! It was hard...I know, nag nag nag.
None the less, we successfully moved the patients through a tunnel and over a barrier and began the life-sustaining procedures (similar to what I described in the morning exam) in the dark rooms. The evolution ended after we moved all three soldiers another 200 feet to a make believe helicopter and gave the medics our reports. I was "on my knees" and "panting" exhausted. And to think, I was convinced I was in decent shape...not quite. But, a valuable experience and even a little fun. I got pretty dirty too.
After returning to the barracks and showering (oh, and I needed it), Isabella picked me up and we grabbed a quite bite. Completely baked, there was only one thing to do...go the Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner!!! Yeah! Isabella and I asked one of my friends to come along. (See pix below) What a day.
(check out the video below...should give you an idea of our day.)
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