Junior officers from Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) traveled to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton to observe Navy hospital corpsmen assigned to the 1st Marine Division (MARDIV) conduct tactical combat casualty care during a Combat Trauma Management course on January 30th.

NMRC sent four active-duty medical researchers to observe the emergency health care capabilities of corpsmen and better inform research into medicine and technology that can save lives in combat.

NMRC’s group, consisting of a physician, a microbiologist, a pathologist, and an industrial hygienist, gained exposure to the operational working conditions, goals of end users and real-world constraints of Navy hospital corpsmen. They also learned of the challenges facing medical staff of Headquarter Battalion and 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines from the instructors and corpsmen.

The course is designed to prepare naval medical personnel for deployment with 1st MARDIV by teaching casualty care designed to reduce combat deaths while allowing a unit to complete its mission and provide the best possible care for casualties on the battlefield.



“This trip helped us understand that products for the infantry must be light, small, inexpensive and durable enough to withstand movement, the elements and long storage times,” said Lt. Rafae Khan, a physician and deputy department head of NMRC’s Undersea Medicine Department. “We also gained insight on day-to-day duties and technical aspects of the Marine’s roles, from the contents of a Corpsman Assault Pack to basic communications to maintenance and operations of assault vehicles.”

The training teaches corpsmen to care for wounded individuals for up to 72 hours in austere conditions while waiting for casualty evacuation. NMRC laboratories focus on solutions to operational medical problems such as battlefield neurotrauma and wound infections.

“The ongoing relationship between the research we do and the support that we provide to the Navy and Marine forces is only enhanced by the relationships we are able to cultivate,” said Capt. William Deniston, commander, Naval Medical Research Center. “I am so happy to see some of our more junior officers have an opportunity to interact with the Marines on such events, especially in the field.”

In support of the Navy, Marine Corps, and joint U.S. warfighters, NMRC researchers study infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology and behavioral sciences.