Golden Medic aims for realistic training 

Soldiers with the 301st Combat Support Hospital of St. Louis set up a Deployable Medical Systems tent during Golden Medic 2005. (Photo by Sgt. Danny C. Martin)

      Members of the Reserve, National Guard and active Army as well as the Air Force have gathered at Fort McCoy, with the opportunity to hone their skills by taking part in one of the single largest military exercises in the country. 

      Golden Medic, an exercise simultaneously held at Fort Gordon, Ga., and Fort McCoy, is comprised of thousands of Soldiers with hundreds of different jobs. The exercise is designed to get as many members of the Army's medical field together so they may conduct realistic training.

      "We make sure this is the most real training possible, so that if they get mobilized they will be trained for the real situations they face," said Col. Ginger Stapley of the 3rd Medical Command and site director for Golden Medic 2005.

      Each of the groups here for this operation take part in a mock war situation with scenarios that mimic real events that have taken place in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom.

      Commanders from within the field work with the observers/controllers (OCs) to decide how these scenarios will play out. OCs control the scenarios by sending the opposing force (OPFOR) and patients to the hospital. Then they evaluate how the Soldiers working in the hospitals react to these situations. 

      Col. Bill. W. Burgin III, commander of the 331st Medical Group, said that he will ask for more patients or OPFOR if things slow down too much, but if things get too out of hand they will slow it down so they can concentrate on receiving good training.

      "This really is the premier exercise for these hospitals," explained Burgin. "It is my intention to get these Soldiers the best experience they can possibly gain in a two- week period." 
Stapley explained the training conducted is part of a larger plan to prepare Soldiers for Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) as well as a possible deployment.

      Exercises such as this one are designed to help Soldiers from the medical field learn how each component of the medical field works in the scheme of all medical operations. Then at JRTC they will learn how they fit into the entire Army operation during a combat situation. 

(Carmack is a member of the 350th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.)