Soldiers from the 505th Signal Brigade participated in a Combat Lifesaver Course class given by the 7243rd Medical Support Unit at the U.S. Army Reserve Center on the Nellis Air Force Base from March 9 thru 12.

The U.S. Army Combat Lifesaver Course is an official medical training course conducted by the U.S. Army and is intended to provide an intermediate step to the buddy aid-style basic life support taught to every Soldier. These advanced life support skills that are taught to U.S. Army Combat Medics and to U.S. Army Special Forces Medical sergeants, respectively.

“I have taken this course before, but every time I take it, I learn something new,” said Sgt. Adam Meyer, 505th Signal Brigade non-commissioned officer in charge. “These classes are always good for the younger Soldiers who have never taken it and it also provides a refresher class for older Soldiers.”

The 7243rd MSU provides medical services from medical professionals needed for Soldier Readiness Processing and Troop Medical Clinic operations at Mobilization Force Generation Installations located throughout the United States.

During this class, the instructors evaluated Soldiers on their ability to assess casualties on simulated high-stress training lanes. The first portion of the training included a class with the basics. Next, the Soldiers were given instruction on more complex treatment like adding splits to legs and inserting nasopharyngeal airways to each other.

“I volunteered for this class because I wanted to improve my Soldiering skills,” said Spc. Kyle Shaw, 505th Signal Brigade signal specialist. “The best part of the class is the hands-on instruction, where we got a chance to insert devises and wrap bandages.”

This CLS class was a four-day certification and/or annual re-certification, that consisted of classroom and practical exercise training. It is one of the warrior tasks completed during annual training for the U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers, which included instruction on how to call in a 9-line medical evacuation request.

United States signal units provide deployable force projection signal support and rapid communications for the U.S Army, joint and combined operations. Since, September 11, 2001, the Signal Corps has been supporting the Global War on Terror, which has continued to emerge across the world.

The 505th Signal Brigade deploys to conduct mission command and provide network planning and engineering support for assigned units to install, operate, maintain, secure and defend the Department of Defense Information Network, which are communications in support of the Theater Army and United Land Operations.