CORPS MEMBER TRAINING WEEK 1.
On May 19th, the whole crew finally met at Medicine Mountain Boy Scout Camp, outside of Custer, South Dakota. The crew clicked almost instantly, and once we identified each other, have taken it upon ourselves to sit together for meals, and training, during group training, the group instinctively seek each other out to accomplish the assigned task. After we have competed the assigned chores, and attending the corps member classes, the group either goes hiking or goes running to explore the camp. So far our favorite part of the training has been getting to meet each other, and the Wilderness First Aid, being taught to us by Aerie Wilderness Medicine based out of Montana.
Our first day with Aerie, was covering CPR which the entire team passed. The next day, we were confronted with patient assessment, and when a practical application presented itself for two members to participate Andrew Novak took the lead, and coordinated with his partner on who had what responsibilities, before the scenario even started. During the scenario, he demonstrated a calm head, and dealt with a belligerent patient who had a head injury, and wasn’t aware of his surroundings who was refusing treatment. After the patient passed out from lost of blood in the scenario, Andrew quickly acted and started to take vitals and make sure that the patient could breath, and still had circulation. When the patient started to have seizures he attempted to protect the patient from himself. When the scenario was over, the all of the Veteran Fire Corps were debriefed on what had gone right and what we could improve on. After all it is said that only a fool learns from only his own mistakes. Day two with Aeire was spent going over wounds and common ailments that occur in the back country, complete with practical applications, in acquiring a clear airway, and ways to transport a patient who is in need of care from a back country setting, using only the things available to use, such as our jackets, or a tent tarp. Tomorrow for a recreation day, we are planning to hike Harney together, which is located in Custer State Park, and the Black Elk Wilderness, it is an old fire tower that was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1911, and is the highest peak east of the Rocky Mountains, with an elevation of 7,242 feet above sea level. We are exhilarated about this opportunity to explore part of the Black Hills and to learn more about the history of wild land fire, as well as to see the full effects of the Pine Beetle, which is so prevalent in the Rocky Mountains, especially around the Arapaho National Forest.