Teaching in the British Army

I serve as a Medical Instructor for the British Army's Mission Ready Training Centre (MRTC). MRTC takes battlegroups at the end of their normal training cycle and introduces the precise and distinct needs of the operation they are due to deploy on. It comprises multiple training teams called formation unit training advisor (FUTA) groups, which are constructed of infantry soldiers and officers who are supported by specialists from the specialist training and advisory team (STAT). These specialists include explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) instructors, military police (MP) and senior combat medical technicians (CMTs). These different teams are each responsible for the pre-deployment training of a specific operation such as Op TORAL (Afghanistan) or Op SHADER (Iraq), for which I am the medical lead.

My paramedic role within the STAT begins with the reconnaissance of the medical needs and structure in the specific area of the operation I am leading. This includes everything from medical infrastructure, re-supply, casualty/medical evacuation, international cooperation and medical training. This information is gathered by visiting the locations in which we will be operating and evaluating what is in place, what needs to be changed, introduced or potentially removed. For instance, when visiting one of the main operating bases in Iraq, we travelled to one of the remote training locations in the mountains. This location was operating at extended medical timelines (+1 hour) and had a medical facility run by CMTs. It was advised that a British military paramedic be placed in this location to facilitate the extended care and evacuation of a casualty while waiting for US Army aviation MEDEVAC. The advanced skills of a paramedic allowed for enhanced care and a more substantial medical team dynamic.