At any moment, a situation could arise either on the ship or out in town that might prove fatal if proper and effective medical care is not administered immediately. Therefore, the Medical Training Team (MTT) teaches lifesaving skills to the crew of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) to ensure they are equipped and ready to be first responders.

 Lt. Cmdr. Joshua Jones, Ike’s MTT team leader, heads the effort. Jones is in charge of coordinating, designing scenarios, and training the MTT.

“We did outstanding during Tailored Ship's Training Availability (TSTA) and Final Evaluation Problem (FEP),” said Jones. “Two of our own were recognized as well. Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Branden Johnson and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Tanganiykia Gray, received recognition for their performance during their assessment from the Afloat Training Group (ATG). Their performance is a reflection on how well we did as the Medical Training Team during this TSTA/FEP. I know from working with them that they put their heart and soul into the training.”

The purpose of MTT is to teach lifesaving knowledge, techniques, and skills to all Sailors in the event that medical personnel are unavailable to respond.

Jones said that he and Ike’s MTT train as they fight. His primary concern is standardizing the expectation of how shipboard injuries are handled through evidence-based learning and training.

“As tasks aren’t correctly carried out or done in the best way, I teach not to just step in and give the answer but to make the participants think about it,” said Jones. “It doesn’t do any good just to hand answers over; you have to make them think about the answers and that’s how they stick.”

MTT trains using Shipboard 11, a list of 11 common medical casualties, through drills such as mass casualties, general quarters, and stretcher bearer rodeos.

 “We have fun, and we are really hands-on with our training,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jose Tello, a battle dressing station leader on Ike’s MTT. “We are basically training non-corpsman personnel in the battle dressing station to the standard of an advanced corpsman with knowledge.”

Personnel Specialist 2nd Class Danielle Catena, another member of Ike’s MTT, says it’s vital to have this skillset because it can affect anyone.

“The person laying on the floor could be you, “said Catena. “How you act is important because you could be saving someone’s life.”

Equipping Sailors with the knowledge to be effective first responders is the everlasting mission of Ike’s MTT. For more guidance on how to join MTT, Sailors are advised to contact Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Cassandra Holmes or Lt. Cmdr. Joshua Jones.

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