Medical team at work during theBattle of Normandy.

Norwegian medics during an exercise.

Swedish Army medic in Afghanistan2006.

Combat medicFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Combat medics (also known as medics) are military personnel whohave been trained to at least an EMT­Basic level (16 week course inthe U.S. Army),[1] and who are responsible for providing first aidand frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are alsoresponsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence ofa readily available physician, including care for disease and battleinjury. Combat medics are normally co­located with the combattroops they serve in order to easily move with the troops andmonitor ongoing health.

Contents

1 Geneva convention protection2 History3 Red Cross, Red Crescent, and MDA4 Modern day5 See also6 References7 External links

Geneva convention protection

In 1864, sixteen European states adopted the first­ever GenevaConvention to save lives to alleviate the suffering of wounded andsick combatants, and to protect trained medical personnel as non­combatants, in the act of rendering aid.

Chapter IV, Article 25 of the Geneva Convention states that:"Members of the armed forces specially trained for employment,should the need arise, as hospital orderlies, nurses or auxiliarystretcher­bearers, in the search for or the collection, transport ortreatment of the wounded and sick shall likewise be respected andprotected if they are carrying out these duties at the time when theycome into contact with the enemy or fall into his hands." Article 29reads: "Members of the personnel designated in Article 25 who have fallen into the hands of the enemy,shall be prisoners of war, but shall be employed on their medical duties insofar as the need arises."

According to the Geneva Convention, knowingly firing at a medic wearing clear insignia is a war crime.[2]

IDF field doctors training in Israel

In modern times, most combat medics carry a personal weapon, to be used to protect themselves and thewounded or sick in their care.[3] When and if they use their arms offensively, they then sacrifice theirprotection under the Geneva Conventions. These medics are specifically trained.[4]

History

Surgeon Dominique Jean Larrey directed the Grande Armée ofNapoleon to develop mobile field hospitals, or "ambulancesvolantes" (flying ambulances), in addition to a corps of trained andequipped soldiers to aid those on the battlefield. Before Larrey'sinitiative in the 1790s, wounded soldiers were either left amid thefighting until the combat ended or their comrades would carry themto the rear line.

It was during the American Civil War that Surgeon (Major)Jonathan Letterman, Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac,realized a need for an integrated medical treatment and evacuationsystem. He saw the need to equip this system with its own dedicatedvehicles, organizations, facilities, and personnel. The Lettermanplan was first implemented in September 1862 at the Battle ofAntietam, Maryland.

The United States Army’s need for medical and scientific specialtyofficers to support combat operations resulted in the creation of twotemporary components: the U.S. Army Ambulance Service,established on June 23, 1917 and the Sanitary Corps, established onJune 30, 1917. Officers of the Sanitary Corps served in medicallogistics, hospital administration, patient administration, resource management, x­ray, laboratoryengineering, physical reconstruction, gas defense, and venereal disease control. They were dedicatedmembers of the medical team that enabled American generals to concentrate on enemy threats rather thanepidemic threats. On August 4, 1947, Congress created the Navy Medical Service Corps.[5]

In the United States, a report entitled "Accidental Death and Disability: The Neglected Disease of ModernSociety (1966)", was published by National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council.Better known as "The White Paper" to emergency providers, it revealed that soldiers who were seriouslywounded on the battlefields of Vietnam had a better survival rate than those individuals who were seriouslyinjured in motor vehicle accidents on California freeways. Early research attributed these differences inoutcome to a number of factors, including comprehensive trauma care, rapid transport to designated traumafacilities, and a new type of medical corpsman, one who was trained to perform certain critical advancedmedical procedures such as fluid replacement and airway management, which allowed the victim to survivethe journey to definitive care.

Red Cross, Red Crescent, and MDA

The International Committee of the Red Cross, a private humanitarian institution based in Switzerland,provided the first official symbol for medical personnel. The first Geneva convention, originally called for"Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field," officially adopted

A U.S. Army combat medic (center)in Afghanistan. Note that the onlydistinguishing feature is the medicalpack on his back.

U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsmanproviding treatment to a woundedIraqi soldier, 2003.

the red cross on a field of white as the identifying emblem. This symbol was meant to signify to enemycombatants that the medic qualifies as a non­combatant, at least while providing medical care.[6] Islamic

countries use a Red Crescent instead. During the 1876­1878 warbetween Russia and Turkey, the Ottoman Empire declared that itwould use a red crescent instead of a red cross as its emblem,although it agreed to respect the red cross used by the other side.Although these symbols were officially sponsored by theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies,the Magen David Adom ("MDA"), Israel's emergency relief service,used the Magen David (a red star of David on a white background).Israeli medics still wear the Magen David. To enable MDA tobecome a fully recognized and participating member of theInternational Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Protocol IIIwas adopted. It is an amendment to the Geneva Conventions relatingto the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem and authorizesthe use of a new emblem, known as the third protocol emblem or theRed Crystal. For indicative use on foreign territory, any nationalsociety can incorporate its unique symbol into the Red Crystal.

Under Protocol III, the MDA will continue to employ the red Magen David for domestic use, and willemploy the red crystal on international relief missions.

Modern day

Traditionally, medical personnel did not carry weapons and wore adistinguishing red cross, to denote their protection as non­combatants under the Geneva Convention. This practice continuedinto World War II. However, the enemies faced by professionalarmies in more recent conflicts are often insurgents who either donot recognize the Geneva Convention, or do not care, and readilyengage all personnel, irrespective of non­combatant status. Also,American medics in both theaters reported taking hostile fire. Forthese reasons, most modern combat medics are armed and do notwear distinguishing markings.[7] Combat Medics in the UnitedStates Army and United States Navy Hospital Corpsmen arevirtually indistinguishable from regular combat troops, except forthe extra medical equipment they carry.

In the U.S. Navy, enlisted medical personnel are known as Corpsmen, not medics. The colloquial form ofaddress for a Hospital Corpsman is "Doc." In the U.S. Marine Corps, this term is generally used as a sign ofrespect. The U.S. Navy deploys FMF Hospital Corpsman attached to U.S. Marine Corps units as part of theFleet Marine Force. Since the U.S. Marine Corps is part of the Department of the Navy, it relies on NavyCorpsmen and other Naval medical personnel for medical care.

USAF medics have frequently served attached to U.S. Army units in recent conflicts. Though all combatmedical personnel are universally referred to as "medic", within different branches of the U.S. military, theskill level, quality of training and scope of work performed by medics varies from branch to branch. The

A U.S. Special Forces medic inAfghanistan.

Wikimedia Commons hasmedia related to Combatmedics.

U.S Army commonly addresses Line Medics as "Doc" provided that they have earned the title, as it doesnot come easily.

As a result of the 2005 BRAC, the U.S. Department of Defense has moved most medical training for allbranches of the armed forces to Fort Sam Houston of Joint Base San Antonio.[8] A new Medical Educationand Training Campus was constructed and the Air Force's 937th Training Group and Naval Hospital CorpsSchool were relocated to Fort Sam Houston, joining the Army's existing Army Medical Department Center& School.[9] Although each service has some training particular to its branch, the bulk of the coursematerial and instruction is shared between medical personnel of the different services.

See also

68W ­ Healthcare Specialist (CombatMedic, U.S. Army)Ambulance ­­ Military useBattlefield medicineBrain Trauma FoundationCombat support hospitalFlight medicMedical assistant

Medical evacuationMilitary medicinePolytraumaRoyal Army Medical CorpsUnited States Air Force PararescueUnited States Navy Hospital Corpsman(U.S. Navy)United States Navy AmphibiousReconnaissance Corpsman (U.S. Navy)

ReferencesSTP 8­91W15­SM­TG SOLDIER'S MANUAL AND TRAINER'SGUIDE, MOS 91W, HEALTH CARE SPECIALIST, SKILLLEVELS 1/2/3/4/5

External links

Official U.S. Army Home of the 68W ­ Health Care Specialist (http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/68w/)Corpsman.com (http://www.corpsman.com) – a website run by Docs for Docs of all US militaryservices90th Infantry Division / 315th Medical Battalion (http://www.90thidpg.us/Medical/index.html)webpage (90th Infantry Division Preservation Group website) – has links to other pages showingequipment of US, German and Japanese medicsWW2 US Medical Research Centre ­ provides vast amounts of data relating to WW2 US ArmyMedics (http://www.med­dept.com/)National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (http://www.nremt.org)National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (http://www.naemt.org)NHTSA Emergency Medical Services (http://www.ems.gov) official website (U.S. National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration)The short film Big Picture: Blood and Bullets (https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.2569488)is available for free download at the Internet Archive

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Categories: Combat medics

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1. "The Academy of Health Sciences Course Catalog 2011 (Course #300­68W10)"(http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/FileDownloadpublic.aspx?docid=cb46f487­fdbc­4671­8f16­f94d63b2eb88). U.S.Army Medical Department Center and School, Fort Sam Houston, TX. 2011. Retrieved 2013­02­25.

2. "International Humanitarian Law ­ First 1949 Geneva Convention" (http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/365­570030?OpenDocument). Icrc.org. 1949­08­12. Retrieved 2010­12­13.

3. "International Humanitarian Law ­ First 1949 Geneva Convention" (http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/365­570027?OpenDocument). Icrc.org. 1949­08­12. Retrieved 2010­12­13.

4. "International Humanitarian Law ­ First 1949 Geneva Convention" (http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/365­570026?OpenDocument). Icrc.org. 1949­08­12. Retrieved 2010­12­13.

5. http://home.att.net/~steinert/#Brief%20History%20of%20the%20Medical%20Corps6. "International Humanitarian Law ­ First 1949 Geneva Convention" (http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/365­

570047?OpenDocument). Icrc.org. 1949­08­12. Retrieved 2010­12­13.7. Middleton, Thomas A. (2010). "Saber's Edge: A Combat Medic in Ramadi, Iraq", p. 7. UPNE.8. Steve Elliott. "All military medical training roads now start at METC" (http://www.aetc.af.mil/news/story.asp?

id=123211901). Aetc.af.mil. Retrieved 2013­02­08.9. "BRAC 2005 recommendations expand Fort Sam Houston to become DoD’s premier medical training base and

the home of Army installation management, and management of family support activities and communityprogram" (http://www.aetc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD­071026­035.pdf) (PDF). aetc.af.mil. Retrieved7 March 2014.