Airmen Represent Guard at Medic Rodeo Competition

CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. - The Air National Guard's 102nd Medical Group (MDG) competed in the 2024 Medic Rodeo competition Aug. 12-16. The four-person cadre was the only Air National Guard team to compete against 17 active-duty units, placing within the top 10 of all participants.

The Medic Rodeo is a global competition that invites participants from different Air Force installations to test their lifesaving skills in scenarios simulating realistic medical emergencies on the battlefield.

"We've trained for everything from emergency medical services (EMS) skills to tactical combat casualty care (TCCC) exercises where we've gotten into prolonged casualty care, preparing for that fight tomorrow," said Lt. Col. Eric Sabatinelli, 102d Medical Group Detachment 1 commander.

The National Guard Bureau chose the 102nd MDG, among 89 Air National Guard units, to represent the ANG in the 15th annual Medic Rodeo.

"It was a privilege to be able to serve the ANG at a higher level and show that we could come and put in 110% effort to represent well," said Master Sgt. Jacob Feeley, aerospace medical technician, 102nd MDG. "Our main goal was to show that the ANG can meet any standard that Active Duty can."

The rodeo was part of the Air Force Medical Service's strategic initiative, Medic-X, to train all medical Airmen, including those not directly involved in patient care, such as administrators or lab technicians. All participants were tested on their ability to provide foundational, lifesaving support to wounded and injured personnel in the field.

Two clinical and two non-clinical medics made up each team from the different installations. Led by Feeley as team captain, the 102nd MDG team was composed of Sabatinelli, Tech. Sgt. Alex Poirier, aerospace medical technician, and Senior Airman Karanvir Singh, public health specialist. In their civilian careers, three members work in emergency medicine and fire emergency services, and one is a Doctor of Pharmacy student.

"The members of the ANG are highly educated professionals in their fields with vast knowledge of the working civilian world, which also generally coincides with their military role," said Feeley. "This is exactly what helped us during our evolutions."

These multi-capable Airmen were pushed to their limit, mentally and physically, throughout the three-day rodeo. Put into an intentionally chaotic, overwhelming environment in the brutal heat of New Mexico in August and were expected to make all the right decisions while providing medical care to a patient with life-threatening conditions.

"Being comfortable with discomfort is normal [as medical personnel,]" said Feeley. "Growth is the only way we can ensure we are ready for the big picture fight this country faces and the only way we are ensuring we are saving American lives."

The competition was conducted in three parts, testing their ability to save lives in a high-stress environment.

The first exercise focused on the teams' EMS skills and how well they respond to the 911 calls Air Force medics often face. The Airmen treated ten scenarios under a graded curriculum.

The team spent the second day at Melrose Air Force Range to perform all three phases of TCCC. The Airmen responded to simulated gunfire, explosions and inhabitants while performing critical care in a mock forward-deployed environment. They transported their patient to a covered environment and transitioned to Tactical Field Care, taking more lifesaving interventions while holding security for their small fire teams.

The next few hours were spent training their prolonged casualty care skills, caring for the same patients in the field over extended periods of time until evacuation was available. Teams addressed traumatic injuries, stopped massive hemorrhages, performed chest decompressions and emergency cricothyroidotomies and transfused whole blood products.

After going through this experience, Feeley and his team see a need for more aerospace medical technicians at the paramedic level of licensure, especially in any austere, hostile environment.

"Paramedics hold a much vaster amount of knowledge and a much larger scope of practice," said Feeley. "They can do more medical interventions in their autonomy and are proven to increase patient outcomes."

On the final day, all members made it to the finish line of the Commando Challenge. At an altitude of 4,000 feet on a 100-degree day, the teams ran a quarter mile to a mannequin needing tourniquets on four extremities. The team loaded the patient into a carrying device and ran a 100-yard dash, dragging the patient along with two 45-pound jerry cans. When they reached their mark, members performed 80 pushups and 80 burpees, and one member applied a tourniquet to the area around the patient's hips. To end, the team ran 100 more yards to the finish.

"The 102nd MDG has zero quit in them and it showed during this week in New Mexico," said Feeley. "I can place our success at the hands, sweat and perseverance of my team members. They are what got the 102nd MDG to the victory we have achieved."

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