Combat Lifesaver Training

Today was an interesting day, anytime needles and blood are involved, folks pay attention in class. We had our first day of Combat Lifesaver Training (CLS) today - - quite the day. The first part was Casualty Evaluation (what to look for first and what to do when someone is first injured), Casualty Evacuation (Litters, carrying injured soldiers, how to call for a MEDEVAC) and an introduction to giving an IV (Intravenous Infusion).

WARNING: NEEDLES, BLOOD AND THE APPLICATION OF SUCH ARE DISCUSSED AFTER THIS; IF YOU ARE A BIT SQUEAMISH, DON'T READ IT and DON'T LOOK AT THE PICTURES (yes Mom, that is my blood).

An IV is used when a soldier/person loses a lot of body fluids in the circulation system (hypovolemic shock) caused by sweat, dehydration, and much worse, but more common bleeding. Starting an IV in a person replaces the fluids so the body can continue to move oxygen and other things through the body. The class was in the morning (most folks were paying attention to this one) and we gave IVs to each other after lunch(that is why folks were paying attention).

The class was pretty good, but of course there was a bit of aprehension when we moved to the practical application portion of the training. The basic steps are the same as when I learned them 16 or so years ago in the SF Qualification Course - - find a good vein, get your bag of IV fluid and its associated tubing ready, get the needle/catheter ready, and go to town . There are a few more steps, but the basic principle is the same: Stick a hole in someone's vein, slide a small tube (catheter) into the vein, connect the bag of fluid to the catheter and let it flow on in as fast as it can go. The hardest part is getting the needle in the vein to begin with and getting over the fact that the person is bleeding AND YOU CAUSED IT.

My partner in this operation was SFC R (trust me, SFC R, I am a Green Beret, we can do anything, honest), he gave a pretty good stick and only let a little bit of my blood out: it looked much worse than it felt. I think I gave him the same treatment. During the training SFC S and SFC C were taking pictures, I will post them to the blog, but, there are some clear winners in several categories:

Best facial expression: Hands down, I won. Even though SFC R was doing a good job, nobody likes needles. Yeah, needles are no good.

Most blood lost during training: Don't worry, Mrs. F, he lived. There is even blood on the floor, what is up with that SFC C?

Prettiest post IV bandage: CPT P, pride of Tennessee, they didn't have any orange tape.

All in all, a good day of training, the good thing was that we all know how to do stick an IV and all did it with no real hesitation or goofiness. We have more CLS training tomorrow, I will also blog up some earlier photos from our introduction week and Culture training.

Team note: SFC S, a flight medic has been moved off of the team to join a TT that focuses on training Iraqi aviators. Good guy, he will be missed. Don't sweat it though, we will not be without a medic, SFC J joined us today.