USU’s Mountain Medicine Course Prepares Military Medical Personnel for High-Altitude Challenges
Uniformed Services University’s Operational Medicine training builds clinical, tactical, and team skills for care in austere environments and harsh terrain.
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Uniformed Services University students and medical team members practice patient care during mountain medicine training, preparing for high-stress environments. (Photo credit: Dr. Matt Welder, USU) |
July 15, 2025 by Sharon Holland
Nestled in the rugged terrain of Jericho, Vermont, the Uniformed Services University’s (USU) Military Mountain Medicine (MC3) course is enhancing the way military medical personnel are trained to operate in austere, high-altitude environments. Led by Dr. Matt Welder, special assistant to the Dean for Operational Medicine in USU’s Graduate School of Nursing, the course brought together 24 Phase 1 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) students and six Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) medical team members for a challenging and transformative learning experience.
The MC3 course is part of USU’s broader effort to strengthen Operational Medicine training across the services.
Mountain medicine training is not for the faint of heart. Divided into two distinct phases—mountain medicine and cold weather medicine—it develops the skills needed to deliver medical care in freezing temperatures, challenging terrain, and at high altitudes. The initial MC3 course covers fundamental wilderness medicine concepts paired with tactical essentials such as mountaineering and land navigation. After that comes an advanced phase concentrating on casualty treatment and evacuation in extreme cold and avalanche-prone settings, where participants learn critical skills like assessing snowpack stability and performing high-angle rescues.
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Military medical personnel train in a genuine mountain environment, focusing on casualty treatment and evacuation in challenging terrain. (Photo credit: Dr. Matt Welder, USU) |
As Welder explains, this intensive training is meant to “stress-inoculate a provider to various extreme conditions so they can do fine motor medical skills in an environment that evokes high stress.”
Combatant commands have increasingly recognized the critical importance of such courses in enhancing medical readiness and battlefield survivability. In response, USU has developed a standardized Operational Medicine curriculum designed to meet the unique demands of both military medical students and operational units.
“Standardization is key,” said Welder. “It ensures that every military medical provider, regardless of service branch or role, is equipped with a unified set of skills. That consistency makes a real difference when teams are working together in high-stakes, high-stress environments.”
This common approach not only improves the quality of care delivered in the field, but also fosters interoperability by enabling seamless cross-training and integration among tri-service teams. The result is a force that is not only medically proficient, but also operationally synchronized—an essential combination in today’s complex global threat environment.
While the EOD community is participating in this iteration, it is just one of several combatant command communities USU supports through Operational Medicine training. These partnerships continue to expand as more commands recognize the value of realistic, mission-tailored medical education.
“The USU mountain medicine/cold weather course has been one of the best courses our EOD Group Two medical team has done to become operationally battle-ready from a medical standpoint. Very few courses offer the same level of operational relevancy in diverse austere environments,” said Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Nikunj Bhatt, Senior Medical Officer for Commander, EOD Group Two. “Taught by world class instructors, this course is one of the few that stresses problem-solving and also builds mental and physical resiliency. For operational medical forces it blends several real world wickets of prolonged field care, triage, and learning to manage resource limitations while working with multidisciplinary teams. It is, therefore, highly recommended for any medical provider or corpsman that may be expected to be on the frontlines of patient care in a challenging environment.”