Moulage master makes exercise injuries realistic

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Ashley Nicole Taylor
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Icemen have seen an array of injuries during recent exercises, including actors with missing limbs, exposed eyeballs, burns and gunshot wounds.

These injuries were not real, but looked lifelike thanks to a team of moulage experts, led by Tech. Sgt. Crystal St. Denis, 354th Medical Group NCO in charge of moulage.

"The purpose of doing moulage is to give a sense of realism for first responders to react to," said St. Denis. "It's much different reacting to an injury someone has on an inject card versus actually seeing it in real life."

During exercises, moulage actors help Icemen become more proficient in the techniques associated with self-aid and buddy care. SABC is not only applied to combat situations, but can be useful during any emergency situation, as injuries can occur at anytime, anywhere.

"Giving realism to an injury helps us so we can better our reaction and response to a given situation when someone's life could depend on it," St. Denis said. "We have had people walk away from a scenario because they couldn't handle what they saw and I wouldn't want that to happen in real life."

Chosen years ago for this job due to a realistic-looking zombie Halloween costume, St. Denis has since been fascinated with movie makeup and worked through her mistakes and learned from repetition.

"I've been a trial-and-error learner, although there are courses available for military moulage that I would eventually love to go to," she said. "You should have seen my first dangling eyeball. It didn't dangle at all and was made from a white balloon which is obviously not realistic; the most recent attempt was much better."

As far as the tools used for moulage, surprisingly most of them can be found around the house.

"I can do just about any injury with liquid latex, toilet paper, makeup and fake blood," St. Denis stated. "We have arms that we give our amputees to take with them representing their missing arm, but most of the things we produce are made on the spot or concocted the night before."

The inspector general team tells St. Denis what kind of injury they need her to do for a specific inject, then she creates and watches it come to life.

"Sergeant St. Denis' passion shows in her work," said Master Sgt. Scott Hendrick, 354th Fighter Wing inspector general chief of inspections. "Her uncanny ability to produce realistic injuries adds invaluable realism during wing exercises."

After all her hard work, St. Denis can step back and see the final product she created.

"The best part of all the injuries I've done is watching the reactions of the people responding," St. Denis said. "You know you did a good job if they hesitate and say, 'Oh my!'"

Although the hours are long and sometimes rushed, St. Denis keeps a cheerful attitude after all is said done.

"I am very excited to be a part of the moulage team and glad to be able to improve the readiness of our wing; the more support we have, the better we can become," she said. "Thanks to a Halloween costume from years ago, I get to do the coolest job on base."