CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — En Route Care System (ERCS) course students teamed up with Sailors and Marines from 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, and 1st Combat Engineer Battalion (1st CEB), 1st Marine Division, during an expeditionary patient movement training conducted by the Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center (NEMWDC) at Camp Pendleton, California, on Nov. 18, 2025.

The integrated training focused on improving interoperability among ERCS teams, ground medical units, and combat lifesavers operating in expeditionary environments. By training alongside 1st Medical Bn. personnel and combat engineer Marines, ERCS teams gained a clearer understanding of how their capabilities support the casualty evacuation and treatment continuum from point of injury.

The ERCS platform provides advanced en route resuscitative care during tactical evacuation. Effective employment of the system requires synchronized communication, efficient patient handoffs, and coordination across multiple medical and operational elements.

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jacob Teeter, a paramedic assigned to En Route Care System (ERCS) 4 from Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Guam, loads a simulated patient onto an ambulance alongside Cpl. Dakota Solly, a combat lifesaver (CLS) Marine with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion (CEB), 1st Marine Division, during an integrated expeditionary training conducted by Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center (NEMWDC) at Camp Pendleton, California, Nov. 18. 2025. The training brought together ERCS personnel and CLS Marines to train for patient evacuation across the various levels of care provided by Expeditionary Medicine teams. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kwame Obengyeboah)

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Lt.j.g Autum Larson, En Route Care System nurse (ERCS) assigned to ERCS 16 from Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Portsmouth, receives a patient handoff from a Sailor assigned to 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, during an integrated expeditionary patient movement training conducted by Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center (NEMWDC) at Camp Pendleton, California, Nov. 18, 2025. The training reinforced communication and continuity of care during patient transfer between ground medical units and ERCS teams. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kwame Obengyeboah)

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Hospital Corpsman Kristian Jakowicz, a paramedic assigned to En Route Care System (ERCS) 4 from Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Guam, secures a simulated patient onto a litter during an integrated expeditionary training conducted by Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center (NEMWDC) at Camp Pendleton California, Nov. 18, 2025. The course allowed ERCS students to train en route care and patient packaging for evacuation alongside Sailors from 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistic Group reinforcing communication, patient handoff procedures, and continuity of care prior to evacuation. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kwame Obengyeboah)

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Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class James Martinez, assigned to 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistic Group, applies pressure on a simulated inguinal bleed on a simulated patient during an integrated expeditionary training conducted by Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center (NEMWDC) at Camp Pendleton California, Nov. 18, 2025. The training reinforced hemorrhage control techniques in conjunction with the En Route Care System (ERCS) training to ensure continuity of care during patient transport. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Kwame Obengyeboah)

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“This integration gives students a real-world perspective on how ERCS fits into expeditionary operations,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Taylor Plantikow, an ERCS instructor with NEMWDC. “Training with medical battalion and combat engineer units exposes them to the pace and coordination required to move critically injured patients safely from the point of injury to higher levels of care.”

During the training, ERCS teams executed casualty packaging, litter movement, and en route care procedures while coordinating with 1st Medical Bn. personnel operating casualty collection and treatment sections. Marines from 1st CEB, serving as combat lifesavers, performed initial lifesaving interventions and coordinated casualty handoffs, reinforcing the importance of seamless integration between medical and non-medical units.

“This training allows us to better understand how ERCS integrates into the patient movement process,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Zhenyu Tan, 1st Medical Bn. “Working together strengthens communication and ensures patients can be moved efficiently to higher levels of care.”

The integration also allowed 1st Medical Bn. personnel and combat engineer Marines to familiarize themselves with ERCS capabilities, strengthening mutual understanding between units likely to operate together during deployments.

NEMWDC continues to emphasize integrated training with operational units to prepare Expeditionary Medicine (EXMED) teams for operational missions. Training events like the ERCS integration with 1st Medical Bn. and 1st CEB enhance readiness by ensuring EXMED teams can operate as a cohesive force across the continuum of care.

NEMWDC is the Navy’s center of excellence for Expeditionary Medicine training. Located at Camp Pendleton, California, NEMWDC provides realistic, high-fidelity training to prepare Navy and joint medical forces to deliver life-saving care across the full spectrum of military operations.