Marines with Echo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct a Combat Life Saver course aboard the USS Green Bay (LPD 20), at Sea, Mar. 30, 2017.
CLS is a class designed to provide Marines skills that will allow them to better asses and react to injuries before being treated by a higher echelon of medical care.
“The most important outcome of CLS is that the Marines will have the knowledge to provide immediate medical care when needed,” said Jerit C. White, the main instructor for this CLS class.
The class consisted of a three day curriculum with 53 students and four instructors. White, is also the Corpsman for headquarters platoon, has taught multiple CLS classes while with Echo Company, 2/5.
“I like teaching Marines,” said White. “Marines are very eager to learn and pick up basic medical skills quickly.”
Throughout the course Marines learned to apply tourniquets, splints, IV’s and treat various injuries.
“The pressure that’s put on you while testing out is intense,” said Lance Cpl. Josh Fink, a rifleman with Echo Company. “As soon as I thought I had the injured Marine stabilized, something else would come up. The Corpsmen that ran the class made sure to make it feel as realistic as possible.”
During the final evaluation Marines conducted various buddy caries and treated patients as the instructors watched and assessed them. Each assessment was unique; each instructor produced their own scenarios and evaluated the Marines individually.
“I definitely think CLS course was a learning experience,” said Fink. “As Marines were always preparing for combat and CLS provides us with the opportunity to stay in the fight longer and possibly save our own or our fellow Marines’ lives.”
As the Marine Corps’ only continuously forward-deployed unit, the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s air-ground-logistics team provides a flexible force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations, from limited combat to humanitarian assistance operations, throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
By Lance Cpl. Jorge Rosales
