U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Sigonella STEM Outreach Program Teaches Children how to Stop the Bleed

Courtesy Story

USNMRTC Sigonella/USNH Sigonella/USNMRTU Bahrain/USNMRTC Sigonella Detachment Souda Bay

The team at U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Sigonella frequently engage with its community as part of its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outreach program, which is led by Lieutenant Kristin Shafer, Emergency Medicine Physician. On April 2, 2025, Lt. Shafer and her team conducted a Stop the Bleed class for a group of twenty school age children at the Maranai Community Center, in Sigonella Italy. Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Siobhann Houston and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Connor Hepker collaborated with Lt. Shafer to tailor an age-appropriate course that would be fun and interactive for the young minds, while also teaching them life-saving skills. They staged the course as a zombie apocalypse and taught the children how to help an injured friend using various equipment and techniques to stop bleeding. Stop the Bleed is a Department of Defense (DoD) program that arms anyone who might see someone get injured with the life-saving skills to control hemorrhage while waiting for help to arrive. With these skills, the students can feel confident helping a friend out after cat bites, playground injuries, or zombie attacks!

United States Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (USNMRTC) Sigonella ensures the medical and combat readiness of active-duty personnel. As a key medical asset in the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) area of responsibility, USNMRTC Sigonella supports operational forces with expeditionary medical capabilities, force health protection, and readiness training. Aligned with Naval Medical Forces Atlantic (NMFL), the command remains mission-focused on sustaining a medically and combat ready force to support global operations.