(Editor's note: article was created with contributions from the 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs Office.)
After two days running through intense scenarios in the eastern New Mexico desert, a team from the 959th Medical Group captured first place in the 2015 Annual Emergency Medical Technician Rodeo Sept. 17-18 at Cannon Air Force Base, N.M.
Medics from Joint Base San Antonio convened at Cannon for two days of innovative, high-octane competition and bested 20 other teams of elite emergency medical technicians from 22 installations across the Air Force.
During this, the rodeo’s eighth consecutive year, evaluators required all contenders to execute their lifesaving mission under greater pressure, stricter guidelines and more austere conditions than ever before. The competition featured 19 categories and each team demonstrated accurate techniques and effective implementation.
Winning the competition was a career high for many on the 959th MDG team, who were all observed under the critical eye of expert evaluators.
“Even after they announced JBSA, we were all in shock. It’s one thing to accomplish a personal goal, but to be a part of the best team in the Air Force was the highlight of my Air Force career thus far,” said Senior Airman Lindsey Hawkins, 959th Medical Operations Squadron.
Other members of the five-man team included Tech. Sgt. Warren Williamson, Senior Airman Bradley Gorman and Senior Airman Ernesto Ramirez-Garcia, 959th Inpatient Operations Squadron; and Senior Airman John Van Dam, 959th MDOS. Williamson served as the team leader.
Teamwork was the key to the 959th MDG team’s success, Van Dam explained. “Our team was successful because of our communication with one another. We established our roles in the beginning and stuck to those roles throughout the challenge,” he said.
In order to accommodate more than double the number of competitors this year, planners split the rodeo into two alternating days, with events occurring simultaneously at nearby Melrose Air Force Range and the Cannon Clinic.
One of the most unique aspects of the competition was the commando challenge – a vigorous, interactive, scenario-based obstacle course during which competitors put multiple skills to the test.
“By far, the commando challenge was the best part of the competition. It was a very realistic deployment setting which challenged us both mentally and physically. Even completely exhausted, we had to apply lifesaving skills to assure the safety of ourselves as well as our patients,” Hawkins said.
The EMT Rodeo gave the 959th MDG technicians the opportunity to hone their craft as members of the 59th Medical Wing, whose primary mission is medical readiness and the development of warrior medics.
“Competing in the EMT Rodeo has helped me pinpoint weaknesses and what I can do to improve on those skills,” Van Dam said.
“This was an experience of a lifetime and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of such an awesome team,” Hawkins added.
Medics from the 959th MDG, working alongside their Army counterparts at the San Antonio Military Medical Center, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, provide first-class health care to more than 240,000 beneficiaries in the San Antonio area. The group is part of the 59th MDW headquartered at JBSA-Lackland.