Sailors from 4th Medical Battalion and Expeditionary Medical Facilities Great Lakes One and Bethesda are participating in Combined Support Training Exercise Northern Lights at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Aug. 16-20.

The annual exercise provides a simulated combat environment to measure service members' effectiveness in providing combat support.

"The nature of this joint field exercise makes it ideal for our Sailors, working alongside the Army, to build a field hospital, practice operational medicine skill sets, and provide medical treatment in a simulated environment," said Rear Adm. Tina Alvarado, commander, Reserve Component Expeditionary Medicine. "The exercise provides critical training to ensure the readiness of our EMF Sailors."

Alvarado and Dr. Andrew Jones, director, Total Force, attended Northern Lights this year to observe the exercise and address the participants.

"This exercise provides our men and women the opportunity to refine their skills while showcasing the readiness and value of our Navy Medicine Reserve forces," Jones said.

During the exercise, service members built multiple combat support hospitals to treat casualties for a 6-8 day, 24-hour operation.

EMF Great Lakes provided staff to outfit an entire EMF that operated independently with its own training goals and objectives to meet the standards of Navy Medicine.

The exercise also provided the opportunity for Navy Medicine to strengthen partnerships and ensure the medical capabilities and readiness of Sailors.

The annual exercise hosts approximately 3,000 to 10,000 service members from U.S. Navy and U.S. Army Reserve support elements, as well as units from the U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps.

EMF Great Lakes has participated in Northern Lights since 2006, cementing their partnership with Fort McCoy and their longstanding training relationship with the Army's regional training site.

U.S. Navy Medicine is a global health care network of 63,000 Navy medical personnel around the world who provide high-quality health care to more than 1 million eligible beneficiaries. Navy Medicine personnel deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, providing critical mission support aboard ships, in the air, under the sea and on the battlefield.

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