Hospital corpsmen aboard Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) coordinated with Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Platoon 3-1-1 and Chilean Special Forces (CSF) for a tactical combat casualty care (TCCC) and subject matter exchange, Oct. 22-23.

TCCC training, a component of UNITAS 2015, simulates a hostile environment where members perform frontline first aid while neutralizing enemy threats.

"During this exchange, EOD shows their proficiency in a minefield scenario and how to best care for the victim of a mine strike," said Lt. Brad Penley, an EOD officer assigned to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 9. "The two days benefit the medical capabilities of the teams."

The ability to treat for combat related trauma and quickly move a victim to the nearest hospital is essential to the mission readiness of EOD and CSF.

"This is the training that will save a person's life in the field," said Hospital Corpsman Kyle O'Brien. "Both EOD and CSF are very fast-paced teams that are often in dangerous situations, so it's essential that each member is prepared for the worst case scenario."

According to O'Brien, one incredibly beneficial aspect of the training was the ability of EOD and CSF to share knowledge.

"Despite trauma medicine having a lot of universal principles, each team has a handful of techniques and strategies that they do differently from one another," he said. "We were able to pool each other's knowledge and diversify our skillsets."

Furthermore, the training exercises helped strengthen the bonds between the U.S. and Chilean forces.

"I was amazed by the interactions the teams had with each other," said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Mark Lunde. "A lot of bonding happens with the rapid exchange of information. We all made several new friends, and I feel like I'm a much more capable corpsman as a result."

UNITAS 2015, the U.S. Navy's longest running annual multinational maritime exercise, is part of the Southern Seas deployment planned by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet. This 56th iteration of UNITAS is conducted in two phases: UNITAS Pacific, hosted by Chile, Oct. 13-24, and UNITAS Atlantic, hosted by Brazil and scheduled for November.

For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), visit http://www.navy.mil/.