Combat Lifesaver Training

The combat lifesaver (CL) is a nonmedical Soldier trained to provide emergency care as a secondary mission. Each squad and crew should have at least one member trained to be a Combat Lifesaver. Most organizations train all assigned soldeirs to be combat lifesavers.

The following is extracted from Army Regulation 350-1 , Army Training and Education , 9 April 2003 .

… Immediate, far-forward medical care is essential on a widely dispersed and fluid battlefield to prevent soldiers from dying of wounds. Medical personnel may not be able to reach and apply lifesaving measures to all wounded soldiers in a timely manner. The combat lifesaver is a nonmedical soldier trained to provide lifesaving measures beyond the level of self-aid or buddy-aid. A properly trained combat lifesaver is capable of stabilizing many types of casualties and can slow the deterioration of a wounded soldier’s condition until medical personnel arrive. Functioning as a combat lifesaver is a secondary mission undertaken when the tactical situation permits.

The Army has added Combat Lifesaver training for most soldiers deploying including the soldier that appears in the picture above. The skills include Casualty Excavation, Airway Management, Chest Injury management, Controlling Bleeding, IV therapy (as seen here) and requesting Medical Evacuation.

From the response I received from the soldier pictured, it is a sobering training event that reinforces the reality that the soldiers are deploying to a hostile environment. The initiative to train soldiers in combat lifesaver skills is beneficial in the end as lives are saved.

To me the picture and knowledge of the training are indicators of the difference in the lives of soldiers and civilians. The 19 Year old soldier in the picture has friends that are most concerned with Shopping Mall sales, clothes and material things while the young soldier must learn how to save a life in a combat zone. The dichotomy between lives for todays soldiers, especially citizen soldiers has never been so significant as it is today.

Pictures from Iraq

They are now a little dated - but I have had several requests for the links for the two windows media files that I assembled that tell a little about my time in Iraq.

The pictures are nearly entirely my own... I felt the music complimented the mood at the time very well.

My own video of my time in Iraq


A more humorous look at Iraq
Mortaritaville


I heard the song (Mortaritaville) while I was with MNSTC-I in the IZ in fall of 2004 - that song struck a chord with me as a Reservist in Iraq and I have the MP3 file of the song that I pulled off the network over there. We listened to it in our shop and when on the road in thin skinned vehicles...

It was recorded by JR Schultz and Nick Brown a couple National Guard soldiers in the IZ in the fall of 2004 at FOB Warrior. They were with the 1/153 inf from the Arkansas National Guard's 39th Brigade. I asked them permission to share it with a wider audience - As fellow soldiers stationed in Iraq I appreciate the sentiment in the song and I felt compelled to add some of my pictures from Iraq to complete the sentiment.

Their site says

"We started writing songs while serving in Iraq with no predetermined ambitions beyond pleasing family and friends. However, as our music was passed around, we were thrilled to find that everyone seemed to enjoy it. We are not professional singers, songwriters, or musicians. We represent the average soldier serving in Iraq."

These guys just sell these CDs off the web at their site Iraq Songs and don't do any promotion to speak of so it always helps to get a little assistance from those who enjoy the music. They said

"Turns out, sounds like you were one of the first to get your hands on the song, we recorded it in the IZ in the fall of 2004 at FOB Warrior. We were with the 1/153 inf from the Arkansas National Guard's 39th Brigade. I know our music has made it's rounds with e-mail and file sharing and I really think most people would like to know where they could hear the rest of our music. I recently ran into an electrician and after talking to him a while, learned he did some private contract work in Mosul, Iraq in 05-06. Out of curiosity, I asked him if he'd ever heard "Mortaritaville" and he actually had it on his iPod."

As in every conflict - sometimes the songs that come out speak volumes about the truths of service - Motaritaville gives a little bit of what did I get myself into message and reflects that even in the uncertainty of a war zone we can still laugh at ourselves as soldiers... Hats off to these soldiers for sharing with us.