FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN  –   U.S. Sailors from Expeditionary Medical Facility Kilo integrated with U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve 4th Medical Battalion to participate in Exercise Global Medic 2024, an annual multinational, multicomponent collective training exercise that ran from Aug. 3-16 in Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

Global Medic 24 combines forces from active and reserve components with joint and international partners for participation in a collective medical training. The exercise is designed to test medical equipment and systems as well as treatment techniques and procedures in the field, increasing medical readiness for future conflicts.

According to Hospital Corpsman Class Christopher McNally, Global Medic 24 served as an opportunity to expound upon knowledge with other units.

“We took a bunch of blue side sailors and taught them skills like fieldcraft and how to integrate with Marine Corps units and then they participated in Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, convoy operations, land navigation and field triage,” said McNally, the assistant leading petty officer for plans, operations, and medical intelligence.

U.S. Marines and Sailors, along with members of the U.K. Army, simulated a medical evacuation that included treatment, holding, evacuation and medical regulation of casualties.

“The scenario was a downed pilot behind enemy lines, a timed evolution,” McNally explained. “[participants] had to recover that pilot then navigate through enemy lines. We started by utilizing land navigation to find the patient and then navigated hostile areas and tactically moved into the tree line all while being evaluated and graded.”

The simulated causalities EMF Kilo encountered were created by the training team to enhance the realism of the medical training through the use and application of moulage on mannequins and scenario actors.

“The moulage center was producing almost 300 patients per 12-hour shift ranging from amputees to burns, scrapes, deformities, and the occasional live role players. They had multiple people who had never done moulage get training to help the exercise produce more patients.” said HM2 Frias Dominguez, Executive Assistant EMF Kilo. “To see the materials being used to create these patients was pretty amazing.”

Joint training exercises such as Global Medic 24 are essential to establishing and maintaining strong relationships between partner nations and different components to foster a baseline of interoperability that will be built upon in future exercises and operations.

“Global Medic 24 provided EMF Kilo Sailors a great opportunity to hone their medical and leadership skills while working with their Army, Navy, and Air Force counterparts, both active and reserve, and medical personnel from other nations,” said U.S. Navy Captain Darryl Arfsten, commanding officer of EMF Kilo. “The exercise significantly enhanced both teamwork and interoperability that keeps our partnerships strong and ready for any contingency worldwide. Additionally, EMF Kilo personnel were able to sharpen their Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) to perform our unit’s Mission Essential Tasks (METs) in support of the Navy Medicine mission.”

EMF Kilo was formally established in 2023 with U.S. Navy Captain Darryl Arfsten taking command March 1. EMF Kilo is subordinate command of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Camp Lejeune and is comprised of approximately 400 personnel.