JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The Brooke Army Medical Center Strategic Trauma Readiness Center team received the prestigious Army Medicine Wolf Pack Award during a ceremony at BAMC Feb. 28.
The Wolf Pack Award was created by the Army Surgeon General and the Chief of the Army Medical Department Civilian Corps to recognize exceptional teamwork by an integrated group of military and civilian team members who are focused on excellence in support of Army Medicine.
“This quarter’s Wolf Pack Award recognizes the collaborative efforts of this team of nine dedicated military and civilian members,” said Richard R. Beauchemin, chief of staff, Office of The Surgeon General and U.S. Army Medical Command.
The integrated team worked closely with the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, and BAMC to develop and implement the STaRC program, a three-week-long pre-deployment medical readiness training program that builds operational readiness for Forward Resuscitative Surgical Detachments.
This capability provides overall readiness training centered on patient care, completion of individual critical tasks and collective team training using a combination of didactic and hands-on trauma events. Through the execution of three weeks of instruction, teams are stressed within their operational constraints and provided with challenging medical scenarios.
“Because of the high level of training provided by the STaRC program, FRSDs are able to save lives on the battlefield to a degree not previously achieved,” Beauchemin said.
During the first week of training, the entire 20-person team attends specific courses such as Emergency War Surgery, Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma Plus, Advanced Trauma Operative Management, and Basic Endovascular Skills for Trauma.
The team also receives training on clinical practical guidance related to mass casualties, burns, walking blood bank, traumatic brain injury and damage control resuscitation.
Medics and nurses attend a cadaver lab focused on damage control resuscitation and a skills lab that familiarizes them with technical equipment used by the team.
In the second and third week, the FRSD is split into two 10-person teams, with one taking trauma calls at BAMC and the other executing a field training exercise at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, with the support of MEDCoE cadre and BAMC staff.
The team conducting trauma calls at BAMC is given autonomy to operate in the trauma bay and operating room as an entire team. An attending physician and trauma surgeon supervise the group. BAMC staff are there to facilitate additional resources and assist with the administrative aspects of patient care.
At JBSA-Camp Bullis, the FRSD conducts operations in an austere environment. They are stressed with operational constraints and challenging medical scenarios. Each team member has a respective subject matter expert to provide objective feedback on their performance.
“The STaRC team is applauded for their exceptional contributions, training seven FRSDs and two Navy flight surgical teams as a model for trauma readiness, and will benefit military medicine by sustaining and enhancing trauma skill readiness for every team member of the deploying surgical unit,” Beauchemin said.
“The exceptional effort, teamwork and dedication displayed by this dynamic team epitomize the highest standards of the Army and Army Medicine,” he added.
BAMC Commanding General, Brig. Gen. Clinton Murray agrees.
“It’s exciting to be here and recognize an amazing group of individuals who have been putting on this course for a number of years,” Murray said, noting the competition for the Wolf Pack Award is steep, with six to 10 programs vying for the prestigious award each quarter. “It’s really impressive to see that you were able to push into that space.”
Murray said both he and Command Sgt. Maj. Thurman Reynolds have witnessed the program at JBSA-Camp Bullis.
“It’s an incredibly impressive program,” Murray said. “We’ve talked with teams after they have come back from (deployed locations), and it’s because of you, lives are actually saved on the battlefield, and there is nothing you could be more proud of than that.”
Army Lt. Col. Richard Lesperance, STaRC deputy program director, accepted the award for the team, thanking leaders for their support of the program.
“Our leadership understands this mission and the importance of what STaRC does,” Lesperance said adding that many people contribute to the program’s sustainability and success.
“Three weeks out of every month people are basically leaving their day jobs and going out to Camp Bullis to provide this training for teams who are getting ready to deploy,” he said. “All of us realize that imposes extra work on our partners, so they’re deserving of this award as well.
“This has been one of the highlights of my military career,” he added. “Working with a group of active duty (military), (Government Service) civilians and contract civilians who are all focused toward just one mission, and that one mission is improving combat casualty care on the battlefield.”