U.S. Army Honors Miller School for Contributions to Battlefield Medical Care

Representatives from the U.S. Army Trauma Training Detachment (ATTD) honored faculty and staff from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine at a ceremony held on the medical campus on January 31. For nearly 20 years, the Miller School’s two-week program has trained forward surgical teams before they are deployed to combat locations.

Representatives from the Miller School and the U.S. Army gathered to celebrate the partnership in military medical training.
Representatives from the Miller School and the U.S. Army gathered to celebrate the partnership in military medical training.

The two-part ceremony was held at the Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation, where the Army medical personnel spend the first week of their training using patient simulators, and at UM/Jackson Memorial Hospital, where they spend the second week treating human patients who have been brought to Ryder Trauma Center. The training includes gunshot wounds, stabbings, burns, motor vehicle accidents and other types of injuries that may occur in combat deployments.

During the ceremony, Captain Jose Arias, commander of the Ryder-based detachment, honored Angel “Al” Brotons, director of training operations in the Gordon Center’s Division of Prehospital and Emergency Healthcare, and Ronald J. Manning, manager of research in the DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery’s Division of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care Services, each of whom has served the Army training program for more than 15 years, with the Commander’s Public Service Award.

From left, Captain Jose Arias with Dean Henri R. Ford.
From left, Captain Jose Arias with Dean Henri R. Ford.

“Our program is the only one of its kind in the Army,” Captain Arias said. “It is the most cutting-edge military medical training offered, and it saves lives on the battlefield.”

Also present at the ceremony was Major General R. Scott Dingle, the nation’s deputy surgeon general.

“It is a privilege and honor to participate in this partnership, which benefits both sides,” said S. Barry Issenberg, M.D., director of the Gordon Center and senior associate dean for research in medical education. “When they return, the Army physicians and other medical caregivers help train their successors, as well as our medical students, residents and clinicians.”

The ceremonies took part during a national meeting of CASA (Civilian Aides to the Secretary of the Army), and about 40 of its members from across the country were also in attendance.


Tags: Army Trauma Training Detachment, Gordon Center for Simulation and Innovation, Ryder Trauma Center