Texas Soldier Earns Expert Medical Field Badge
Maj. Randall Stillinger | 36th Combat Aviation Brigade
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – A Texas Army National Guard soldier was one of a select few individuals here to qualify for the coveted Expert Field Medical Badge on Wednesday.
Spc. Wesley Acuna of Round Rock, Texas, joined an elite group as he completed the final qualifying event, a grueling 12-mile march around this remote base in the Kuwaiti desert, just south of the Iraq border. He is currently deployed to the Middle East with the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
When the process started six days ago there were 138 soldiers with high hopes of earning the distinction of being among the best in the U.S. Army medical field. After several qualifying events that tested them mentally and physically for six days, only a small percentage were left at 4 a.m. to start the road march, which required the soldiers to wear a full combat load and finish in under three hours.
When it was all over, only 21 soldiers were pinned with the coveted Expert Field Medical Badge on their uniforms by Brig. Gen. Kenneth C. Roberts, assistant chief of staff for Army Central Command.
Col. Rick Adams, commander of the 36th Brigade, said the 16 percent graduation rate for the competition speaks to the excellence, professionalism and determination that defines Acuna.
During the last few miles of the road march, as pain took a toll on his body and sweat dripped from his face, Acuna was asked how and why he got involved in the competition.
“I didn’t really plan to do this,” Acuna said. “I started training, and then at some point I just committed.”
The physical challenges and lack of sleep were just a portion of the qualification process. Under harsh and stressful conditions, candidates were tested to prove themselves as expert medical professionals.
Participants were required to perform medical tasks under life-like simulated combat situations, including controlling severe bleeding using a tourniquet, hemostatic device and dressings, inserting a short tube into the nose to secure a patient’s airway, performing needle chest decompression to treat a collapsed lung, initiating treatment for hypovolemic shock and preventing hypothermia among many others.
Casualty Evacuation and other tasks further tested their abilities in a battlefield environment. Those tasks included evacuating a casualty using a litter, using a one or two-person carry or drag, extricating a casualty from a vehicle and establishing a helicopter landing point.
“My inspiration to complete this came from my section and my unit’s support,” Acuna said. “I feel really accomplished and confident that I’m a better medic and a better soldier because of this training and competition.”
“It's soldiers like Spec. Acuna that make the U.S. military the most lethal and benevolent force on the planet," Adams said.
Acuna is the son of Pete and Lisa Acuna of Round Rock.