While serving in an Infantry unit in Hawaii, several soldiers of various ranks and years of experience teamed up to train for the coveted Expert Field Medical Badge (EFMB). Some had tried and failed once or twice before, others had never tried for various reasons. We recruited more fellow medics to train for and test for the EFMB, until every medic in our command who did not already have the EFMB was on the team. Since the EFMB test is an individual effort, the team effort was for training purposes, but it also helped to develop comradeship. The EFMB TEST is comprised of military field tasks similar to the Expert Infantry Badge but also includes emergency medical tasks. Ill spare you the details, but let you know that the tasks are performed during daylight hours and night time hours. Every medic takes every test and must earn a passing score on each task in order to be awarded the EFMB. One such soldier, a Sergeant, never tried out for the EFMB in all of his years of service, but he joined our team. He served as a powerful mentor and taught us many of the takes we would be facing. He and I prepared our team and our units cohesiveness. We encouraged and supported one another through every undertaking. On the night of the night land navigation course, we discovered just how strong we were when the unexpected occurred. One by one we started and finished the grueling course in the thick brush of the gorged landscape of the Hawaiian island. As each of us found our respective final point and neared the finish line, we checked on the others to ensure everyone was accounted for. When everyone except the Sergeant had reported in, we all initiated a search party. He was eventually found at the bottom of a gorge which he had been trapped when he fell from a ridge and through the canopy of trees, breaking his arm and caught under the broken branches. Once we helped to free him from the debris, he found the last two points and made it to the finish line. He later explained that he is night blind, and after losing his flashlight in an earlier fall, he was lost and unable to navigate. When he fell, he hoped and prayed that someone would find him. .. and we did. The rules of the EFMB prevent anyone from assisting another person, unless it is to save life, limb or eyesight.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 05:18:28 +0000
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