Day 6- Major field exercise

OK so now it is Tuesday and you are going to spend SEVERAL hours out in the field.  They will wake you up at 0430 and you will be allowed to eat your last real breakfast before forming up and heading out to the training area.  The first "evolution" we did was marching as a platoon through a narrow trail with a patient (dummy) on a litter, under fake gun fire while they (the cadre) are yelling at you to GO! then GET DOWN! then GO! again.  Part of the course involves low crawling under a cammo net.  If you are the ones with the litter at this time, it really sucks because you have to push and pull the thing under the net - help each other out and take turns with the litter.  Those dummies are heavy so don't be afraid to say that you need relief.  After you get through that obstacle they will kill off key people like the squad leader.  Make sure whoever takes over has accountability for the squad b/c they will ask you.  After each evolution you will have an After Action Report (AAR) and you will discuss how you did, blah, blah, blah.  The funnest evolution in my opinion is when they take you through the tactical simulator.  You are split off into about 4-5 individuals.  They give you a brief "map" of what it looks inside the sim and tell you what you need to do.  Basically, you are looking for casualties and will treat them as you find them.  They turn the lights TOTALLY off so for much of it you are feeling around in the dark, trying to find bodies which are dummies and treating them.  All the while the cadre are throwing wood chips at you, fake gun fire is going off and they are screaming at you.  In between evolutions you will have classes.  Two other evolutions we experienced were a convoy attack and rescuing pt.s from a fake C-130 crash.  All in all, it is a lot of humping around the hills of San Antonio and a lot of moving and "treating" pt.s which are ALL dummies.  We ended up finishing around 1630, but had to wait for the rest of the platoons to return so they could have their "squad leader" meeting.  The majority of us, after showering that night, discovered many "battle injuries" such as severely bruised knees and elbows.  I got a hematoma to the top of my right hand- not sure how I did it, and one of the Navy docs ended up busting her ACL- not good since she was a surgery resident :(  Other than that, we all passed out and got ready for the "last" day in the field.