JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Items on Airmen’s predeployment checklists run the gamut from financial, legal and medical considerations to family and household matters.
Another requirement can prove to be a lifesaver in life-and-death situations by preparing Airmen for their wingman role.
Self-Aid and Buddy Care training is mandatory for deploying members as well as Airmen and Department of Defense civilians bound for Outside Continental United States assignments.
“Self-Aid and Buddy Care may seem like yet another training item to some, but to others who have used it in their life, it is very real,” said 2nd Lt. Maria Settanni, Joint Base San Antonio SABC instructor. “I have read in the newspaper about Airmen using SABC in-garrison and realized that I was their instructor, which is awesome. Being able to help yourself or others is critical in this world, and so I always remind students of the impact good muscle memory will have.”
The priorities of SABC, Settanni said, are to preserve life, limb and eyesight; to avoid any condition deterioration while getting victims to further medical assistance; and to provide members the ability to care for themselves or others when needed.
SABC is split into distinct sections: airway management, bleeding control, patient transportation and how to accomplish the necessary paperwork.
“I like to explain to students that making sure the patient is breathing is the most important thing,” Settanni said. “Then we discuss how controlling bleeding as efficiently and effectively as possible is important, while still maintaining a good airway.
“Finally, we cover how to get someone to further medical care, while ensuring that the airway remains open and the bleeding remains controlled,” she continued. “Something as simple as filling out paperwork correctly can impact a patient’s outcome, so we use some scenarios to seal it in their memories.”
SABC training employs a variety of techniques for students to practice, Settanni said. These include inserting a nasopharyngeal airway, performing jaw thrust or head-tilt and chin-lift techniques and applying a combat application tourniquet.
“The SABC course also covers some important items such as how to treat eye injuries and how to seal and burp a sucking chest wound,” she said. “These are actually recent additions, and they provide valuable skills for the current fights in which we engage.”
Although the course is often taught to a full class, it is also offered on a one-on-one basis, Settanni said.
“Due to mission requirements, I have performed several one-on-one sessions for leadership or deploying members,” she said.
Settanni, who serves as a section commander with the Battlefield Airmen Training Group at JBSA-Lackland, said she taught SABC for almost five years when she was an enlisted member.
“After my recent commission, I realized my current duty location needed some SABC instructors, so I was recently re-evaluated in order to teach again,” she said.
Settanni said she loves being an SABC instructor because it keeps her connected to her pre-military medical roots.
“My long-term goal is to attend medical school after military retirement, and so this keeps me involved,” she said. “It is said that teaching is the best learning tool, and I firmly believe that. There have been so many times when my instincts to care for others have just kicked in and I was grateful for this opportunity to stay current in SABC.”