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Getting comfortable being uncomfortable: Guard Airmen attend Medical Readiness University

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Sarah McClanahan
  • Air National Guard
ALPENA COMBAT READINESS TRAINING CENTER, Mich. --  

Nearly 300 Airmen from 54 units across the Air National Guard converged for this year’s ANG Medical Service-hosted Medical Readiness University at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan.

Kicking off in the first week of June, this two-week large-scale medical training event provided Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 career specialties.

“Medical Readiness University has evolved over time as we support the National Defense Strategy and National Security Strategy,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Linda A. Rohatsch, director, Medical Service Office of the Air Surgeon, ANG. “This course’s new focus prepares ANG medical personnel for the next near-peer engagement and incorporates all [medical] components to ensure we are fit for the next fight.”

U.S. Air Force medical Airmen on a critical care air transport team offload a simulated patient from an U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter assigned to Detachment 1, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, Michigan National Guard, during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale, training event provided hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 300 service members from across the Joint and Total Force, including more than 21 medical career specialties, that may not be acquired elsewhere. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S. Air Force medical Airmen on a critical care air transport team offload a simulated patient from an U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter assigned to Detachment 1, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, Michigan National Guard, during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale, training event provided hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 300 service members from across the Joint and Total Force, including more than 21 medical career specialties, that may not be acquired elsewhere. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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U.S. Airmen load simulated patients onto a U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aircraft assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale training event provided Total Force Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 medical career specialties. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S. Airmen load simulated patients onto a U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aircraft assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale training event provided Total Force Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 medical career specialties. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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U.S. Air Force medical Airmen with the Air National Guard transfer a simulated patient onto a litter during a tactical combat casualty care course at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 11, 2024. The course was part of Medical Readiness University, an Air National Guard-hosted two-week event offering multiple courses providing medical Airmen with hands-on operational training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S. Air Force medical Airmen with the Air National Guard transfer a simulated patient onto a litter during a tactical combat casualty care course at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 11, 2024. The course was part of Medical Readiness University, an Air National Guard-hosted two-week event offering multiple courses providing medical Airmen with hands-on operational training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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Some of the courses offered at this year’s MRU included: tactical combat casualty care, prolonged casualty care, MEDIC-X, contingency preventive medicine, critical care air transport skills sustainment, patient decontamination mobile, and more.

Standardized courses like TCCC, PCC and MEDIC-X provide Mission Ready Airmen with the necessary broad skills, common to all medical specialties, to enhance and improve patient care outcomes in contested environments where resources may be limited.

“This MRU is preparing Airmen for what we may see in the near future to help better care for our patients or our customers worldwide, whoever those customers may be,” said Tech. Sgt. Chase Edwards, medical technician, 172nd Airlift Wing, Mississippi National Guard, who instructed the MEDIC-X and PCC courses.

While TCCC and PCC instruct Airmen on managing life-threatening injuries commonly encountered on the battlefield, MEDIC-X is specific for medical personnel not directly involved in emergency care. This course expands on fundamental skill sets so that any Air Force medical personnel can assist with some procedures when medics or nurses are overwhelmed, explained Edwards.

“Medical readiness training is paramount to ensure our medics are pushed to operate outside their comfort zone,” said Rohatsch. “Their skills are tested and they are pushed to think outside the box and become problem solvers.”

Many Air Force medical personnel are accustomed to working in a clinical or hospital setting where resources are far more plentiful than in an austere, contested environment, explained Edwards.

“[In a hospital] there's a lot of equipment, personnel and brainpower to go around,” said Edwards. “Well now you're in a situation where there's a lot less of you to think about things. There's a lot less equipment and you have to make do with what you have.”

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lauren Rosenhoover, cardiopulmonary technician, 140th Wing, Colorado National Guard, trains alongside other critical care air transport team members in properly allocating resources in the event of an inflight patient emergency during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale training event provided Total Force Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 medical career specialties. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Lauren Rosenhoover, cardiopulmonary technician, 140th Wing, Colorado National Guard, trains alongside other critical care air transport team members in properly allocating resources in the event of an inflight patient emergency during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale training event provided Total Force Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 medical career specialties. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joshua Alley, right, respiratory care practitioner, 134th Air Refueling Wing, Tennessee National Guard, trains alongside other critical care air transport team members in properly allocating resources in the event of an inflight patient emergency during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale training event provided Total Force Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 medical career specialties. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joshua Alley, right, respiratory care practitioner, 134th Air Refueling Wing, Tennessee National Guard, trains alongside other critical care air transport team members in properly allocating resources in the event of an inflight patient emergency during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale training event provided Total Force Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 medical career specialties. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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U.S Air Force Airman 1st Class Sydney Rodriguez, dental assistant, 122nd Fighter Wing, Indiana National Guard, practices inserting a nasal cannula on a medical training manikin during a tactical combat casualty care course at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 11, 2024. The course was part of Medical Readiness University, an Air National Guard-hosted two-week event offering multiple courses providing medical Airmen with hands-on operational training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S Air Force Airman 1st Class Sydney Rodriguez, dental assistant, 122nd Fighter Wing, Indiana National Guard, practices inserting a nasal cannula on a medical training manikin during a tactical combat casualty care course at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 11, 2024. The course was part of Medical Readiness University, an Air National Guard-hosted two-week event offering multiple courses providing medical Airmen with hands-on operational training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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This year’s MRU is preparing medical Airmen for the future fight by challenging them to step out of their comfort zone and exercise their critical thinking skills.

“Resources could be limited [in a contested environment],” said Master Sgt. Joshua Liko, aerospace medicine superintendent, 163rd Attack Wing, California National Guard. “You have to be able to take what's in your pack and make do with what you have.”

To mitigate challenges like these, MRU enables Airmen to foster partnerships with medical colleagues and learn how to integrate alongside the total and joint force.

“We need to practice exactly how we would play,” said Rohatsch. “This year’s MRU was a Total Force Integration and joint event.”

Total and joint force elements were interwoven throughout the training event including support from a U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aircraft assigned to the 445th Airlift Wing, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters assigned to Detachment 1, Company C, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment, Michigan National Guard.

The training culminated with a comprehensive scenario-based capstone exercise demonstrating the broad spectrum of the Air Force medical service career field and how each component works together.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sara Syverhus, center, aerospace medical technician, 101st Aerial Refueling Wing, Maine National Guard, prepares to insert an oropharyngeal airway on a medical training manikin in a moving ambulance as part of a MEDIC-X course at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 11, 2024. The event was part of Medical Readiness University, an Air National Guard-hosted two-week event offering multiple courses providing medical Airmen hands-on operational training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sara Syverhus, center, aerospace medical technician, 101st Aerial Refueling Wing, Maine National Guard, prepares to insert an oropharyngeal airway on a medical training manikin in a moving ambulance as part of a MEDIC-X course at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 11, 2024. The event was part of Medical Readiness University, an Air National Guard-hosted two-week event offering multiple courses providing medical Airmen hands-on operational training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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U.S. Air Force medical Airmen with the Air National Guard transport a simulated casualty using a two-man carry during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale training event provided Total Force Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 medical career specialties. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S. Air Force medical Airmen with the Air National Guard transport a simulated casualty using a two-man carry during a Medical Readiness University capstone exercise at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 13, 2024. This large-scale training event provided Total Force Airmen with hands-on and real-world operational training at a reduced cost for more than 21 medical career specialties. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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U.S Air Force Airman 1st Class Sydney Rodriguez, dental assistant, 122nd Fighter Wing, Indiana National Guard, practices inserting a nasal cannula on a medical training manikin during a tactical combat casualty care course at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 11, 2024. The course was part of Medical Readiness University, an Air National Guard-hosted two-week event offering multiple courses providing medical Airmen with hands-on operational training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)

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U.S Air Force Airman 1st Class Sydney Rodriguez, dental assistant, 122nd Fighter Wing, Indiana National Guard, practices inserting a nasal cannula on a medical training manikin during a tactical combat casualty care course at Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, Alpena, Michigan, June 11, 2024. The course was part of Medical Readiness University, an Air National Guard-hosted two-week event offering multiple courses providing medical Airmen with hands-on operational training. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Sarah M. McClanahan)
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“I'm definitely learning about my public health counterpart,” said Airman 1st Class Natalie Venesky, bioenvironmental engineer, 174th Attack Wing, New York National Guard. “I feel like now it's going to be easier around the office to coordinate things with each other … So now that I know what they're doing, they know what I do. It'll definitely create some more morale and just an easier workflow.”

Large-scale training events, like MRU, provide the opportunity for Airmen of every rank to hone their skills and feel more capable of taking on more responsibility.

“Even though I'm just an Airman I can step up and do those things, too, and I can be successful in it,” said Venesky.

Repetition promotes competency. This year’s MRU empowered ANG’s medical personnel to instill confidence in their craft through operational- and readiness-centric training.

“My hope is that each medic leaves MRU with competency and second-to-none skills within their scope,” said Rohatsch. “I hope each medic leaves here with a bigger network of fellow medics that they can collaborate with and develop lifelong relationships with - all for the betterment of the ANG and Air Force.”