It was three days of grueling competition as the Army tested to find its best medic.
“This was a chance for me to hone my skills,” said Staff Sgt. Claevon Salter, a combat medic with Fort Gordon’s Eisenhower Army Medical Center who participated in the 2021 Command Sgt. Maj. Jack L. Clark Jr., U.S. Army Best Medic Competition held at Fort Gordon this week. The competition was Jan. 25-27 with the awards ceremony scheduled for Jan. 28.
Forty-four soldiers representing Army installations from around the globe participated in the three-day event that featured several components including a fitness test, 14.2-mile ruck march, obstacle course, land navigation, casualty care lane and a trauma lane.
Salter, a native of Palmdale Calif., said the toughest part of the competition was fighting the elements.
“It rained all three days,” he said. “There was a lot of wet ground, and it was a very physical competition.”
While he said he was cold, wet and tired as he came in from the field, Salter said he brought with him some valuable experiences that he could use if called upon in a combat situation.
In the civilian world, doctors and nurses respond to medical emergencies, but it’s different in the military.
“On the battlefield, the combat medic is called upon, and we have to be physically and mentally prepared,” he said.
Salter said he was able to see where his skill levels were, and he learned from others as well.
Medicine, he said, is ever evolving, and he was able to see how different parts of the Army dealt with different situations.
To qualify for the event, Salter had to first go through a regional competition. It was held in September 2019 with COVID delaying the Army-wide competition. Other qualifying requirements included having earned the Combat Medical Badge or the Expert Field Medical Badge.
He said the Army made sure the competition was held in a safe manner with social distancing and mask wearing. Also, soldiers were tested for COVID twice during the competition, and there were no positive cases. They also maintained a COVID bubble with no one from outside the bubble allowed in during the competition.
VIDEOS OF THE COMPETITION ARE BELOW
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/781569/2021-army-best-medic-competition-obstacle-course
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/781681/2021-army-best-medic-weapons-qualification
https://www.dvidshub.net/video/781680/2021-army-best-medic-competition-tactical-combat-casualty-care
