Integrating Tactical Combat Casualty Care with Physical Fitness: Enhancing Military Medical Readiness

Story by Lt. Kyle Coven

U.S. Naval Hospital Rota

ROTA, Spain – Sailors from the U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (USNMRTC) Rota continued their integration of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) curriculum into their physical fitness training regimen.

Led by Lt. Cmdr. Charlene Brew, the staff and education training officer, and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Laquesha Jackson, the command fitness leader, the team identified fundamental TCCC skills suitable for incorporation into a fitness circuit. Together, they devised an annual Command PT schedule focusing on exercises that not only enhances physical fitness, but also sustains operational and clinical capabilities.

“Working in an (military treatment facility) can make it difficult to engage in TCCC training,” explained Brew. “By integrating TCCC into PT training, Sailors can easily sustain the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for a ready medical force.”

Jackson, a native of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, emphasized the collaboration with assistant fitness leaders in crafting a plan highlighting eight essential TCCC elements. “This is a critical part of Navy Medicine,” notes Jackson. “Military units with members trained in TCCC have documented the lowest incidence of preventable deaths among casualties in the history of modern warfare.”

These exercises build muscle and stamina that enable success when providing lifesaving care to an injured warfighter. Continuous education and physical training that is relative to the expectations of an operational platform will further enhance the readiness and effectiveness of our Sailors. Throughout the calendar year, our focus will remain on sustaining innovative activities that inspire sailorization and unit readiness.

NMRTC Rota serves as a force multiplier in Navy Medicine’s strategic global medical support mission throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East while also supporting operational readiness and maintaining a strategic repository of expertise at the Naval Hospital Rota MTF within the Iberian Peninsula.

Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore.