Oak Harbor TCCC Training Brings Battlefield Medicine to Life With Helicopter Evacuation
The final exercise, known as FINEX, challenged 11 students to put two weeks of training into practice, treating and moving simulated casualties through scenarios designed to replicate the challenges of providing medical care in a combat environment.
Of the 11 students, nine were assigned to Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor, and two were Air Force Reserve nurse practitioners from the 452nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron assigned to March Air Reserve Base in California. NMRTCOH’s TCCC class is available to any service member.
For Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Devon Penrod, Staff Education and Training leading petty officer at NMRTCOH, developing the course has meant finding ways to bridge the gap between knowing how to perform a medical procedure and being able to execute it under operational conditions.
“The goal isn't just to have students tell us what they would do in a situation,” Penrod said. “We want them to actually do it. That means getting their equipment out, treating patients, moving casualties and figuring things out when something doesn't go exactly as planned.”
The exercise required students to physically perform each phase of casualty care, from initial treatment and movement to preparing patients for evacuation. Rather than relying on verbal explanations or simulated equipment use, students worked through the challenges of managing casualties and coordinating care in the field.
That realism extended beyond the medical scenarios. The exercise culminated with the arrival of a NAS Whidbey Island SAR helicopter, requiring students to coordinate a medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), prepare casualties for transport and complete a patient handoff to the aircrew.
“Having SAR involved takes the training to another level,” Penrod said. “We can teach the procedures in a classroom, but having an actual helicopter come in and giving students the opportunity to work through that process makes a difference. It's an experience they can take with them when they deploy.”
Cmdr. Angelo Baquir, Chief Medical Officer at Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor, observed the exercise and praised the emphasis on practical application.
“Hands down, it was the best and most realistic session I've witnessed yet,” Baquir said. “Requiring students to physically pull, prep, and apply their gear — instead of just saying 'I would do X' — taught invaluable lessons in friction, timing, and problem-solving under stress.”
Students were required to deploy and troubleshoot their medical equipment while managing simulated casualties, providing firsthand experience with the challenges of treating patients outside a controlled clinical setting.
“Having students physically deploy their medical adjuncts made all the difference,” Baquir said. “It forced them to respect real equipment prep times and learn firsthand how to troubleshoot gear when things don't go textbook.”
The exercise's defining moment came when the SAR helicopter arrived. Students coordinated a nine-line MEDEVAC request and worked around the aircraft under active rotor wash, experiencing the noise, movement and communication challenges associated with helicopter operations.
“The absolute highlight was the live MEDEVAC integration: calling in a real 9-line and working around an inbound helo to load patients under active rotor wash brought the entire operational picture together,” Baquir said.
The Tier 3 TCCC course prepares Navy hospital corpsmen and other medical personnel to provide advanced trauma care in operational environments. The training emphasizes hemorrhage control, airway management, casualty stabilization and medical decision-making under stress.
For Penrod, continuing to develop the training environment is about ensuring the qualification represents more than course completion.
“We're always looking for ways to make the training better and more realistic,” Penrod said. “At the end of the day, we want these Sailors to have confidence in their abilities because they've actually done the work, not just talked through it. When they're put in that situation for real, we want them to be ready.”
While Naval Health Clinic Oak Harbor's daily mission centers on providing care to service members and their families, exercises such as FINEX reinforce Navy Medicine's responsibility to maintain a medically ready force capable of providing lifesaving care wherever the mission requires.
By combining realistic casualty scenarios, hands-on medical care and a live helicopter evacuation, the course helps ensure that when Navy medical personnel are called upon to support the warfighter, their training has prepared them for the demands of the mission.
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