Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command (NMLPDC) recently held its Tactical Combat Casualty Care Combat (TCCC) Provider or Paramedic course at Naval Support Activity Bethesda.

TCCC serves to educate all Department of War service members on rendering care to trauma casualties in isolated, austere, and combat environments.

“TCCC starts with Tier 1 foundational skills, which is for all servicemembers, such as tourniquet placements and airway,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Cody Proctor, TCCC Tier 3 instructor at NMLPDC. “TCCC Tier 3 is tailored more for Combat Medics and Corpsman with advanced lifesaving skills like cricothyroidotomies, chest tubes, and blood transfusions.”

One of the largest factors that influences a casualty’s likelihood of surviving traumatic injury is the quality of care rendered in the immediate aftermath of an event.

TCCC is part of the ongoing training and learning that provides the knowledge to create a bridge from the field to the hospital.


“We teach people how to stabilize and rapidly transport casualties to a higher echelon of care with greater medical capabilities,” said Proctor. “Front line emergency response and medical intervention can very well be the determining factor if a patient survives or doesn’t.”

One of the final exercises that the students participate in is a field exercise. This is to simulate care under fire with extreme elements such as loud noises and environmental hazards such as cold and wind.

“The Final Exercise is where each student will complete a full trauma lane from start to finish in a high-stress environment,” said Proctor. “These are generally in areas that have been made dark, loud and disorienting with the intent of both exposing them to potential sources of stress in a real-life application while also gauging their ability to adapt and execute their skills properly.”

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Richard Blair, a Sailor assigned to NMLPDC’s Periodontics Department, was one of the students who completed this rigorous training.

“The course was a chance for me to refresh some very important skills that if you don’t keep up with them, they atrophy,” said Blair. “Overall, I think the course was great and made me feel very confident performing these skills during the final exam.”

Courses like TCCC are crucial for the readiness of all servicemembers at home and abroad, especially those in isolated and austere environments. The ability to treat casualties, evacuate, and eventually return to service or remain engaged in the mission is paramount.

NMLPDC is the cornerstone of Navy Medicine's professional training, leadership development, and education mission; maintaining collaborative relationships with more than 300 military and civilian higher learning institutions while annually supporting 3,000 Federal uniformed services, civilian, and allied foreign military members.