One hundred seventy members of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) Medical Treatment Facility (MTF) along with Marines from the Expeditionary Medical Facility, 4th Marine Medical Battalion and the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, participated in a mass casualty response drill on Naval Air Station North Island. The drill was part of the larger, multi-service exercise, Steel Knight 2025, held at Marine Base Camp Pendleton, and tested the MTF’s ability to triage, treat and transport multiple simulated patients during a crisis.

On the flight line at NASNI, the exercise simulated the transfer of patients from an accident scenario at Camp Pendleton that included an explosion. In the scenario, the patients were transferred to the field treatment facility by helicopter and offloaded by Navy and Marine Corps aircrewmen. Once off the helicopter, members of the medical team moved patients from the flight line, through a triage station, and into various levels of treatment, the same way they would do in a real-world operation.

The drill was conducted with as much realism as possible. Patients consisted of specially made medical simulation mannequins and live role players, made-up with realistic makeup and prosthetics to simulate a variety of injuries from simple burns and cuts to more severe, life-threatening traumas.

“Our job is making sure that our Sailors are ready for combat,” said Capt. Darla Dietrich, Mercy’s MFT executive officer. “We exercise like this, so they will know what to do when they have to respond in a real-world situation.”

Mass casualty drills are conducted to prepare medical personnel and emergency responders for the chaotic and high-stress environment of a real-world scenario. They are commonplace training for the MTF,and Mercy will conduct multiple drills such as this during their quarterly exercises. What made the Steel Knight drill unique was that it was not held on the hospital ship, as it is currently on the East Coast, undergoing maintenance. This drill was held entirely in the field, utilizing an abandoned hangar and the new, first time tried, Rapid Emergency Medical (REM) Pod/Units. By taking the MTF off the ship, they were presented with new challenges such as a different working environment, limited facilities and more field-related equipment, all things the team needed to adapt to and work through, as they provided patient care.

“I enjoy that we are here, doing real-time training with the Marines,” said Hospital Corpsman Chief Petty Officer Rick Perez. “It forces us to think outside of the box, and it reminds us that we won’t always be working the ship, and we will have to be in the business of being war fighters and supporting warfighters. This type of training gives us the ability to train and to impress what we are doing and learning onto the junior Sailors and junior officers.”

As members of the MTF are quick to point out, they are a team. While most of the focus was on the medical side of the team, other departments were also participating, including the Supply Department, who assured us all supplies were available, and the Air Department, who oversaw all helicopter operations. Even the chaplain participated! Just like the challenges for the medical staff, everyone had challenges to overcome and lessons to be learned.

“For me, being a part of this scenario lets me practice, to see how things will go and how I will be able to do my work,” said Lt. Emanuel Agbor, Mercy’s chaplain. “I am able to see how things will be organized, so I will know how to move around and do my work without hampering the medical team from doing their work.”

“I’ve learned more about shipboard medicine and their procedures and then working in an environment with limited supplies and in a higher pressure and higher paced situation,” said Hospital Corpsman Third Class Petty Officer Ini Olandunjoye. “Being here, I’ve met new people and been exposed to new rates that I’ve never worked with before. I think it’s been a great learning experience for me.”

The Steel Knight mass casualty drill was designed to test and improve the capabilities of the Mercy MTF as well as all the participants. The challenges in the scenarios were built to identify and resolve communication and logistical issues, and ultimately, save lives. The training tested the ability of multiple branches of the military to work together gave participants the opportunity to activate and employ their response plans to improve relationships, and interoperability among a variety of participants. Utilizing realistic scenarios, equipment and operations tempos allowed everyone to hone their skills and gain confidence in their abilities, ensuring they can remain calm and focused during a real emergency.

“My expectation is for the team to be challenged by this exercise. I want them to grow their ability to innovate, to think and to deal with a challenge,” said Capt. Chris Dickerson, Mercy’s MTF commanding officer. “Training doesn’t stop just because the ship is in maintenance. “The goal is to find all the ways we can operate as a medical force.”

Steel Knight 2025 is a scenario-driven, mission rehearsal exercise led by 1st Marine Division designed to certify 5th Marine Regiment in the planning, deployment and command and control of Marines in preparation for the next Marine Rotational Force – Darwin. The exercise enhances readiness, sharpens kill-web enabled decision-making, and demonstrates to allies that I MEF remains the partner of choice.

MSC directs and supports operations for approximately 140 civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships at sea, conduct specialized missions, preposition combat cargo at sea around the world, perform a variety of support services, and move military equipment and supplies to deployed U.S. forces. MSC exists to support the joint warfighter across the full spectrum of military operations, with a workforce that includes approximately 6,000 Civil Service Mariners and 1,100 contract mariners, supported by 1,500 shore staff and 1,400 active duty and reserve military personnel.