Deployed Sheppard instructor will bring hands-on expertise to field medic course Published Aug. 6, 2007 By Staff Sgt. Tonnette Thompson 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Many people who deploy learn invaluable skills that will assist them and their coworkers in their accomplishment of the mission. When returning to a training base like Sheppard, however, one's acquired knowledge can go beyond enhancing those they work alongside, influencing future generations and even the overall Air Force's effectiveness. Tech. Sgt. Raymond Hillis, deployed to Balad Air Base, Iraq, will be one such anticipated return. When the biomedical equipment repair instructor returns to the 382nd Training Squadron, the lessons he's learned while assisting in the moving and installation of medical equipment from a tented station to a newly constructed facility will be transferred to the Airmen-in-Training here. "His deployment and his experiences there will help us further develop our Advanced Field Medical Course, where we train our folks to perform medical equipment repair functions in Iraq and other areas of responsibility," said Chief Master Sgt. Eric Steinberg, Air Force Program Director of the Department of Defense Biomedical Equipment Technician Course. The advanced field course provides the Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors who attend the knowledge needed to maintain and install medical equipment in the field of operations. As a key instructor for the course, Chief Steinberg said he believes Sergeant Hillis will use his deployment as an opportunity to eventually bring first-person accounts to his students. "His experience while deployed will enhance our ability to train our students by telling them of his hands-on experience and giving them real-world, real-time examples of what's happening over there and what's needed of us," Chief Steinberg said. Sergeant Hillis, when interviewed for an Air Force News article on the BMETs working at Baladsaid some experiences at Balad helped him understand the magnitude of his job. "Every time I pull a patient off of a chopper or volunteer to assist in the operating room, I see the type of environment our miracle workers are struggling in. I get to be the guy who gives them a better environment to perform their miracles in." The course, as it stands, has already been named a Best Practice at the Air Force level. According to Chief Steinberg, the course is easily tailored and responsive to the needs of the field. Whether a course with such high accolades can be improved even further will be determined upon Sergeant Hillis's return.