Army training Archives

By Debbie Gregory.

The Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), located at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston is home to the Joint Emergency Medical Technician Sustainment Training (JEST) program. The JEST program is responsible for delivering refresher Emergency Medical training to more than 550 Army and Air Force personnel each year, through a combination of classroom instruction and field training.

Through the JEST program, healthcare specialists and medical service techs from both branches train together to meet the annual training requirements, established by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and the Department of Transportation for EMTs. As part of the service members’ occupational functions for their MOS’s, the sustainment training also meets respective Army and Air Force regulations.

This one of a kind joint training operation offers benefits to personnel from both branches. It promotes inter-branch camaraderie, as well as the sharing of educational information. It also provides service members with 48 college credit hours for the training.

The JEST training is five days of instruction and hands-on classroom exercises at BAMC, followed by one day of field validation at nearby Camp Bullis.

At Camp Bullis, the service members are divided into teams of either four or five members. Each team must move tactically through a wooded area, while encountering simulated artillery fire. Once the team reaches the casualties, they must provide tactical field care, call for an evacuation, move the casualties to a safe evacuation site, and brief the ambulance team on the status of each patient. The goal of the exercise is to utilize the “golden hour of care,” where all of the above is completed and the patient gets delivered to definitive care within an hour. Following the exercise, instructors brief the students on how they performed.

Graduates of the JEST program hail it as great training for both branches, and vital to success of their mission as lifesavers when they are deployed.

“The benefit of training jointly is that the different forces will always be on the same page, train on the same equipment and follow the same procedures when we are in a combat zone in theater,” said Army Staff Sgt. Juan Leyva, graduate of the JEST course.

Versions of the joint EMT training have been conducted at BAMC since August, 2013. The leaders of BAMC and the JEST program would love to see their curriculum serve as a model for other programs across the U.S. military.

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Military Connection: Joint Army-Air Force EMT Training: By Debbie Gregory

By Debbie Gregory.

One of the biggest obstacles that stand in the way of Veterans securing civilian jobs is the fact that many employers don’t recognize military qualifications as work experience. Every Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) has specified training, and requires qualifications that, in most cases, don’t carryover to the civilian world, once service members separate from the military.

But now, as the U.S. military is in the process of its largest draw down in generations, the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is leading efforts to give soldiers the opportunity to earn certifications and licenses for their military experience that will be recognized by civilian employers. The program is part of a recent directive, signed by Secretary of the Army John McHugh, and calls for the branch to improve its credentialing and career skills programs. The program is being pushed by Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA) Dan Dailey.

“This is a win-win for the Army and its soldiers,” SMA Dailey said. “What better time than now, when the nation needs an Army of soldiers and leaders with creative and critical thinking skills to accomplish any mission the nation asks of us. We must be able to give them the most educated fighting force in the world.”

Soldiers are able to earn two types of credentials: One is a non-DOD government license, which include state-issued commercial driver’s licenses and licenses issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. The other is a certification from an independent agency or industry-organization, such as the American Welding Society. The Army is looking to create licenses and certifications for every MOS.

The Army is hoping that its credentialing program will benefit soldiers and the branch by helping transitioning soldiers get hired in the civilian world, recognized as qualified workers. The DOD is responsible for unemployment compensation for the first 26 weeks after a service member separates. And according to the Department of Labor, the average recipient receives 21 weeks of unemployment compensation. The Army spent more than $320 million in unemployment compensation for soldiers, who were qualified workers, but lacked the proper civilian-recognized credentials.

The new program will also benefit soldiers who are wishing to make the Army their career. Earning credentials provides soldiers with promotion points, which will factor into their tallying at promotion time. For example, a sergeant looking to promote to staff sergeant can earn ten points for each certification, for a maximum of 50 points towards promotion.

With unemployment among Post-9/11-era Veterans among the highest in the nation, programs such as this could go a long way. Anything that can be done should be done to reduce this statistic for a generation of Veterans in recognition of their patriotism and sacrifice during the country’s longest period of war.

To see what credentials are available to soldiers, visit https://www.cool.army.mil/