CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.  –   CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. – Expeditionary Medical Facility Kilo participated in training in tandem with 2nd Medical Battalion at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune on Dec. 7, 2023. The Medical Management of Chemical and Biological Casualties course prepares medical forces for scenarios they could encounter during combat involving hazardous materials or biological warfare.

“The MCBC course delivers the highest standard of training, considered ‘gold standard’, on the treatment to chemical and biologicals casualties,” said EMF-Kilo Training Officer Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Rushnov. “Involved members from EMF-Kilo and 2nd Medical Battalion receive a three-day intensive course that includes didactic instruction, tabletop exercises, and field exercise.”

The final day of the course included a walkthrough by instructors and an hour-long decontamination demonstration. Sailors were then split into teams and assigned to different stages of the decontamination process. Faux casualties were processed through allowing Sailors to take what they learned from the prior two days of training and apply in the field.

“The training teaches the leading cutting edge, advanced strategies for the medical management of chemical and biological casualties that can be applied in the field/deployed setting,” Rushnov said. “This way they can maximize survivability of these types of patients regardless of deployment location.”

The training was provided by a mobile team with US Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense and the US Army Medical research Institute of Infectious Disease. EMF-Kilo is a subordinate command of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Camp Lejeune, the readiness platform at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune.