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Tactical training

NMU’s ROTC, nursing departments band together

During a mock bomb scenario, Northern Michigan University's nursing and military science departments put their training to the test. Above, nursing students try to revive a cadet, who's suffering from a gunshot wound. (Journal photo by Jackie Jahfetson)

MARQUETTE — Standing in a white-covered field with Siberian-like gusts attacking the face, camouflaged “good guys” stood in the bushes, crouching nearer to enemy lands.

Up ahead stood a snow bank that resembled a mountain, but the snow-concealed fortress laid embedded with “bad guys.” All of a sudden, an explosion burst through the silence and the “good guy” cadets opened fire toward the mountain.

In a mock bomb scenario, Northern Michigan University’s ROTC cadets and the Nursing Department joined forces to put their practical training to the test.

The main purpose for this event was to get cadets prepared for summer training in Fort Knox, where around 6,500 cadets from across the country come to participate. With the frigid winter weather, NMU’s cadets will be more seasoned than most, NMU military professor Lt. Col. Timothy Harris said.

“We are providing practical training for our army fields and leadership so every leader in the army has to understand tactics to a certain degree. No matter what branch they’re in, if they’re an infantry officer, they need to know tactics. If they’re a supporting officer, they’ve got to understand the tactics they’re supporting so they can support well,” Harris said. “When we get down there to Fort Knox, we’re going to use the tactical training that they’ve done given the tactical scenarios to evaluate their leadership potential.”

Causalities injured in a mock bomb scenario receive treatment from nursing students Thursday at the National Guard Armory as part of a training session between Northern Michigan University's military science and nursing departments. (Journal photo by Jackie Jahfetson)

Once the cadets invaded enemy lines, their job was to find any casualties and transfer them over to the nursing station lodged at the National Guard Armory across the street on Lincoln Avenue. Inside the gymnasium, nursing students were fitted with gloves and stethoscopes. IV bags and beds waited for injured bodies to enter and for nursing major students to use their developing training skills as their peers observed and advised them through the scenario.

Generally, when ROTC goes out for training, they use air-soft rifles to act as “battlefield effects” to better train cadets, but this is the first time that they’ve incorporated sound and visual effects to simulate an explosive situation, Harris noted. NMU cadet Nathan Jacobs received an op-order from his acting commander this morning and the main mission was to take that op-order using “troop leading procedures” to attack the enemy, assess the damage and bring any casualties to medical help.

“It’s just a great opportunity to come out here. We don’t generally use the field here because we don’t have a whole lot of cover and concealment. So it’s a good time to get out here and use training we don’t normally use and it’s just a great opportunity to partner with … the nursing department,” he said.

Jackie Jahfetson can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. Her email address is jjahfetson@miningjournal.net.

Nursing students from Northern Michigan University use their practical training skills on an injured ROTC cadet in a mock bomb scenario, where the nursing and military science departments teamed up on Thursday to give students a hands-on learning experience. (Journal photo by Jackie Jahfetson)

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