Training for Wounds: National Guard Medics Recertify

The West Virginia National Guard’s Medical Detachment conducted their annual recertification for army medics this morning at the Center for National Readiness Memorial Tunnel.

In addition to a written test, the medics were required to complete seven training exercises, which varied from attending to victims of a car crash to evacuating soldiers from combat. 32 medics, four of them women, participated in the training.

The scenarios were held in the CNR Memorial Tunnel halfway between Charleston and Beckley on the West Virginia Turnpike. Training activities increased in intensity the farther into the tunnel the medics traveled and were designed to simulate the range of situations an army medic might expect to encounter in either a domestic or foreign crisis.

National Guard medics participate in the training once a year.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.