Bravo Co. 4th LAR Will Deploy in Sept.via Frederick News Post

"FREDERICK -- Marines stationed at Fort Detrick spent Monday morning in the base's Henry O. Tuell Dome, getting acquainted with IVs and bandages as part of a combat lifesaving course. The Bravo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, will deploy to Iraq in September."

"The 120 Marines earned a certificate in combat lifesaving after completing last weekend's course, which included skills such as evaluating a casualty, treating chest trauma, controlling bleeding and requesting a medical evacuation."

"They're all training in the event of someone getting injured, so they can take care of their buddies," said Agustin Hernandez, a civilian medical training coordinator who led the course. "The bottom line is taking care of each other when you go to war."

"On March 31, the Marine Corps confirmed the Bravo Company's deployment. The reservist unit was warned in December it could be deployed and has spent weekends since training in infantry tactics, marksmanship, insurgent operations and physical readiness."

"Cpl. Jeremy Cheshire, 26, said he looks forward to training and deployment."It's what we joined the Marine Corps for," said Cpl. Cheshire, who joined the Marines in February 2002.'"

Beginning in May, the Marines will train at Fort Leonard Wood, Miss.; Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland; and Camp Lejeune, N.C., to become a small-craft company, patrolling and securing Iraqi waterways near the Euphrates River.

Ongoing training

Throughout their training, the Marines will practice the skills they learned during the lifesaving course, Mr. Hernandez said.

"You don't learn IVs in one day," he said. "But just being able to feel comfortable with your skills and knowing the tools to save someone's life is an accomplishment in itself."

Using their lifesaving skills, Marines can serve as an extension to trained medics. A unit of several dozen Marines may contain as few as one medic, Mr. Hernandez said, and the training will decrease preventable deaths during combat.

About 15 percent of combat deaths could be prevented if more troops knew how to treat injuries, including controlling bleeding, alleviating pressure buildup in lungs and clearing airways, Mr. Hernandez said.

Sgt. Marc Christ, 30, deployed to Iraq with the Bravo Company three years ago. The intense training before deployment will help calm any fear among the unit's Marines, he said.

"It's not really that people get scared," he said. "(Fear of) the unknown is a better word. We can get away from as much of the unknown as possible, and the more things you're prepared for, the less scared you are."

Experiences

Two Marines have been killed during Bravo Company deployments.

During the 2002-2003 deployment to Iraq, Lance Cpl. Gregory MacDonald was killed and two Marines injured when the road under their vehicle crumbled and they rolled into a canal.

In the early 1990s, the Bravo Company's Lance Cpl. James M. Lang was killed during the company's deployment to the Persian Gulf.

Bravo Company's commanding officer, Capt. Michael Stolzenburg, returned from Iraq in February after a 10-month deployment.

Capt. Stolzenburg said he's been talking with the company's Marines about his own deployment.

"The things I saw, heard about, experienced -- I'm preparing them mentally, emotionally, for what they need to do over there," he said.

Though the company previously deployed to Iraq from February 2002 to September 2003, about 75 percent of Marines in Bravo Company are new to the Corps and have never deployed before.

"Of course they think about getting killed or hurt," Capt. Stolzenburg said. "But that's why they're all here to train hard. And they are all training hard."

The Frederick News-Post