Treating Soldiers ‘forward’
Forward Aid Station reduces lost training time
By Chris Rasmussen/The Leader
Thanks to a new Forward Aid Station, Basic Combat Training Soldiers who are injured or become ill in the field no longer have to be transported several miles away for treatment.
Located at the former Camden Range, along Johnson Rifle Road across from Remagen Hand Grenade Range, Fort Jackson’s first Forward Aid Station opened May 1.
“The main purpose of being out here is to cut down on lost training time as well as providing timely medical treatment,” said Lt. Col. Jeremiah Stubbs, Medical Department Activity chief of Soldier Care.
The vast majority of BCT Soldiers who will be treated at the facility will return to training within three hours, Stubbs said.
“If they had to be shipped back to base they would lose a day of training,” said Sgt. Lonnie Knissell, noncommissioned officer in charge of the Forward Aid Station. “We are in a tactical location between two live fire ranges.”
The facility and its staff are prepared to treat a variety of injuries and illnesses, from burns, sprained ankles and cuts to heat exhaustion. However, Emergency Medical Services will need to be called for major trauma, Knissell.
“We are here as a treatment facility but any major concerns still need to be handled by EMS,” Stubbs said. “We simply don’t have the resources to treat major trauma.”
The facility is staffed by a doctor and four medics and features five beds and a 31-seat waiting room. It also has a 100-seat overflow area outside. It is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Pvt. David Longo, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 13th Infantry Regiment, of Forest Hill, Md., was completing day three of Victory Forge when he became ill and was treated at the aid station for a nasal infection and possible stomach virus.
“Training is what I enjoy the most here. It feels good to know I will get back ASAP,” he said.
The Forward Aid Station is located in a building that was formerly used to clean weapons and took about a year to secure funding and remodel into a medical facility, Stubbs said.
While not many BCT Soldiers have come through the aid station’s door so far, Knissell said he expects to be busy once word gets out they are out there.
“We only have battalion training right now but come this summer we expect to be very busy,” he said.