Friday morning the 6th, we put on the full "battle rattle" of IBA, individual body armor. Kevlar helmet with goggles, IR reflectors and mount for NVG (night vision goggle). Vest with large ceramic plates, inside of Kevlar front and back and lots of "MOLLE" attachments to hang ammo, canteens, etc. Kevlar sheets hung inside to protect the ribs when raising an arm. Kevlar covers for the shoulders which makes it look like Samurai armor. Side ceramic plates MOLLEd on. Kevlar flap protecting the groin. Velcro/slide on elbow and knee pads. Uvex lenses over the glasses. The small yellow case dangling in front has special ear plugs that allow quiet sounds but seals out loud sounds. With the Camelback attached to the back, the whole edition is over 50 pounds. We may carry up to 420 rifle and 45 pistol rounds. Real soldiers also carry grenades and other goodies.
So, we assembled outside early Friday in full battle rattle and weapons for our first lesson on dismounted (aka walking) patrol. We quickly learned via the wet grass that the desert boots issued by the Navy and Army are NOT waterproof. Our socks were soaked very quickly. We had "in coming" drills where we flopped down on the wet ground. My helmet was so large that I could not look up when prone (it's been adjusted since).
The rest of Friday (after changing boots and socks) was practical lessons on combat life saver. As a doc, I supervised and all the non-physicians had to start IV's on each other and do various maneuvers on dummies like put a tube down the nose, decompress a collapsed lung, apply a tourniquet and use the special combat bandage.
Today, the 7th, we did mock mass casualty. Our team on 15 had to enter a dark smoke-filled building to find, remove and treat actor casualties. Naturally, they picked the 250# volunteers as our casualties. Hard to do with the armor on. In the mid afternoon, we patrolled a wooded area in 90 degree weather (full battle rattle) and were "attacked" by mortar and small arms fire. I headed half of our team and we flanked the mortar pit and took them out. We then tended the wounded. One of the proctors tried to trick me with a heat stroke; I've given lectures on this so it only took about 15" to diagnose and talk through the treatment. The "after patrol" picture shows the drench of sweat from the uniform that was under the armor. You can see how dark the uniform is down to my waist.
So, we assembled outside early Friday in full battle rattle and weapons for our first lesson on dismounted (aka walking) patrol. We quickly learned via the wet grass that the desert boots issued by the Navy and Army are NOT waterproof. Our socks were soaked very quickly. We had "in coming" drills where we flopped down on the wet ground. My helmet was so large that I could not look up when prone (it's been adjusted since).
The rest of Friday (after changing boots and socks) was practical lessons on combat life saver. As a doc, I supervised and all the non-physicians had to start IV's on each other and do various maneuvers on dummies like put a tube down the nose, decompress a collapsed lung, apply a tourniquet and use the special combat bandage.
Today, the 7th, we did mock mass casualty. Our team on 15 had to enter a dark smoke-filled building to find, remove and treat actor casualties. Naturally, they picked the 250# volunteers as our casualties. Hard to do with the armor on. In the mid afternoon, we patrolled a wooded area in 90 degree weather (full battle rattle) and were "attacked" by mortar and small arms fire. I headed half of our team and we flanked the mortar pit and took them out. We then tended the wounded. One of the proctors tried to trick me with a heat stroke; I've given lectures on this so it only took about 15" to diagnose and talk through the treatment. The "after patrol" picture shows the drench of sweat from the uniform that was under the armor. You can see how dark the uniform is down to my waist.
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