Team Development & Dynamics
Why this TLO is cross-cutting
Team Development & Dynamics is not tied to a single point in the patient flow. The team that triages a casualty is the team that resuscitates, operates, holds, and evacuates. The same eight to fifteen people perform across every node, and the ARSC ELOs in this domain bear on all of it.
This page is the home of those ELOs. Specific applications — what cross-training looks like in the FRSS, how CRM expresses itself during a triage event, what task organization looks like in Holding — are addressed on the relevant node pages.
ELOs (Enabling Learning Objectives)
| # | ELO |
|---|---|
| TD-1 | Analyze relevant CPGs as it relates to team members’ skills and practice. |
| TD-2 | Perform team-level cross-training in critical skills. |
| TD-3 | Describe elements of non-traditional roles for team members in the austere environment. |
| TD-4 | Demonstrate crew resource management (CRM). |
| TD-5 | Demonstrate incorporation of supporting personnel. |
| TD-6 | Explain the importance of ARSC team members’ familiarization with the military decision-making process and its impact on operational planning. |
| TD-7 | Distinguish between the application of ethical principles in clinical practice and combat casualty care. |
| TD-8 | Discuss key components of individual and ARSC team resilience. |
| TD-9 | Understand personnel task organization (STP, FRSS, Holding). |
Key concepts
Task organization. USMC Role 2 capability is delivered by three organized teams: STP (resuscitation, no surgical capability), FRSS (Damage Control Surgery), and Holding (post-resuscitative or post-surgical management for a defined window). Personnel task organization for each team is detailed on the corresponding node page.
Non-traditional roles. In an austere environment, every team member should be cross-trained at least one role beyond their primary billet. A surgical technician may run anesthesia gas; a corpsman may scrub; a nurse may run airway. Cross-training is not aspirational; it is required redundancy.
Crew Resource Management (CRM). Closed-loop communication, callouts, role clarity, structured handoffs, and authority gradients adjusted for the urgency of the moment. CRM frameworks from aviation and operating room teamwork research apply directly.
Ethics. Combat casualty care creates ethical decisions that civilian practice does not — expectant management in MASCAL, MEDROE-driven prioritization, partner-nation casualty handling. The Defense Medical Ethics App provides a framework.
Resilience. Sustained operations, exposure to severe injury, and proximity to death stress the team. Pre-deployment preparation, in-stride peer support, structured AAR processes, and post-deployment recovery all matter. Resilience is a team capability, not just an individual one.
Doctrinal references
- MCRP 4-11.1G, Health Service Support Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
- MCO 6000.20, Health Services Concept of Operations
- ARSC Joint Training Standard
- JTS CPG: Performance Improvement
- Defense Medical Ethics application
Practical application by node
| Node | How TD shows up here |
|---|---|
| Austere Prep | MDMP familiarization (TD-6); pre-mission task org confirmation (TD-9) |
| Prepare to Receive | Surgical rehearsal as a CRM exercise (TD-4); equipment cross-training (TD-2) |
| Triage | Ethics in MASCAL categorization (TD-7) |
| STP / DCR | CRM in resuscitation; cross-training in critical airway/blood roles |
| FRSS / DCS | OR team CRM; non-traditional roles for surgical assist |
| Holding | Task org for sustained ICU-level care |
| Prolonged Holding | Resilience under sustained operations (TD-8) |
| Mortuary Affairs | Ethics and moral injury context (TD-7, TD-8) |