Features, Health

Forward Resuscitative Surgical Team trains at Ramstein

Story & photos by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn A. Ford
86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
July 9, 2020

The 86th Medical Group provides a unique capability when it comes to medical training. The Medical Simulation Training Center is the home to nine human simulators.

The human simulators provide a realistic aspect to medical training. During exercises, instructors can program the simulators with vital information. The simulators can have a pulse, breath and even bleed.

U.S. Army Capt. Jessica Weinman, 67th Forward Resuscitative Surgical Team Emergency Nurse, reviews the medication stock and prepares commonly used medications for an inbound patient prior to a training scenario at the Medical Simulation Training Center, Ramstein Air Base, June 19. Medications come in different concentrations and substances, and nurses need to assure these substances and concentrations are prepared appropriately and are ready to administer when a patient arrives.

This capability came to Ramstein in 2012. The following year, more than 1,500 service members trained on the life-like simulators. Today the center has outgrown its original location and will be moving to a larger facility as the number of students the center sees per year has more than doubled.

“We are small, but very robust,” said Christopher Williams, 86th MDG simulation specialist. “We’re getting bigger because we’ve outgrown it.”

U.S. Army Spec. Alexandra Jimenez, 67th Forward Resuscitative Surgical Team licensed practical nurse, hangs notional blood on the Belmont Rapid Infuser during a training scenario at the Medical Simulation Training Center, Ramstein Air Base, June 19. Most battle injuries and traumas lead to massive hemorrhage, and the Belmont Rapid Infuser can transfuse massive amounts of warmed blood, which is vital to the patient’s survival.

This capability allows the 86th MDG to maintain their own training certifications, but also lends a hand to joint partners.

On a regular rotation, U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz Rhine Ordnance Barracks is the home station to two forward resuscitative surgical teams.

“We are a small dynamic team that is doctrinally forward deployed as close to the point of injury as feasible,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Andrew Kagel, 67th FRST commander.

U.S. Army Maj. James Foster, 67th Forward Resuscitative Surgical Team orthopedic surgeon, left, and Spc. Jonathan Lopez, 67th FRST operating room technician, right, place a Hypothermia Prevention and Management Kit under the patient to prepare for transport during a training scenario at the Medical Simulation Training Center, Ramstein Air Base, June 19. Hypothermia is one of the triad of death, and a trauma patient who is already compromised has difficulty maintaining normal body temperature. The HPMK helps optimize a patient’s ability to retain body heat and stay warm.

When not deployed within the Central Command area of responsibility, the 67th FRST are on a rotational be-prepared-to-deploy order to support the Army Contingency Response Force. Because of this high operational tempo, it is vital they keep their skills sharp and remain ready when the team gets the call to move.

“We are always on mission, and need to find training opportunities of high value and flexibility,” said Kagel. “The Medical Simulation Training Center provides just those sorts of opportunities.”

U.S. Army Capt. Jennifer Hensel, 67th Forward Resuscitative Surgical Team Nurse Anesthetist, intubates a patient during a training scenario at the Medical Simulation Training Center, Ramstein Air Base, June 19. Trauma patients are often unconscious and cannot maintain their own respirations. The most effective and definitive way to assure the patient is ventilating is by securing a tube in the trachea by means of intubation.

The high fidelity simulation offered by the 86th MDG provides unmatched capabilities in the area, supporting such courses as advanced cardiovascular life support, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and self-aid buddy care.

“Ramstein can do the most high speed medical training,” said Williams. “This is like the flight simulator for the medical field.”

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