Caring, training go together Published Oct. 5, 2006 By Kimberly Champagne 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. -- The 20th Medical Group participated in a training exercise Sept. 25 through Friday to prepare medical personnel for deployment. "Medical Unit Readiness Training involved all 275 active duty members and Individual Mobilization Augmentees assigned to the medical group," said Richard Cox, 20th Aeromedical-Dental Squadron, Medical Readiness manager. "A travel team from Lackland Air Force Base was part of a training cadre. They taught 20 of the required 25 MURT topics." said Linda Justice, 20th Aeromedical-Dental Squadron, Medical Readiness trainer. Day one concentrated on training in the base theater. The training consisted of: mission doctrine, triage, self aid and buddy care, wound care, disease prevention; combat stress, field hygiene, threat and future battlefield environment, radio etiquette, communications, treatment of nuclear, biological, chemical casualties and integrated base defense. Day two centered on field training and night operation exercises that involved chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high yield explosives, task qualification training, shelter assembly, litter and manual carries (to include five-person teams navigating an obstacle course with patient litters). Medical personnel are required to complete all 25 MURT training topics each Air Expeditionary Force cycle to be deployment eligible. "The expertise that our Lackland cadre provided was extremely valuable and very well received by MDG personnel. Ninety-nine percent of student surveys were very positive and most asked the Lackland instructors to return again to teach our next MURT. Medics were given an opportunity to get out of their duty sections, and receive essential training, while gaining a sense of camaraderie with fellow unit personnel." said Linda Justice. "Patient care is very important, and training our people to be good health practitioners is equally as important. Last week we were able to do both." said Col Stephen Niles, 20th Medical Group commander.