US Army Combat Medic

>>31892632
Not a 68w myself but ive worked with plenty of them as an 11b. The combat medics that actually make it to the line are usually in better shape than their infantry counter parts, and if they are not they are swiftly removed from being on the line. A 60 lbs dry ruck would be sufficient for training. Doing 4 miles in an hour would be the minimum standard, but if you want to make it to the line i would aim for quicker.

>>31892826
60 lbs sounds reasonable, I mean I have nearly 8 months to get fit before I even get to basic so I think by then hopefully I'll be up to a standard that I can be attached to the front line units which is what I'm aiming for.

>>31892632
Don't fuck Ur knees up before you even get there

>>31892632
Oh boy. I'm gonna break your heart right here boss. Pick a different job. It sounds super awesome and badass, and it is, until you realize you are just as likely to get stuck in a turbo POG medical company.
The reason I say this is thats pretty much what happened to me. I joined up, passed training, got sent to an Infantry battalion as a medic. Fucked around in the aid station until the Scout Sniper platoon needed a medic. Was their medic for deployment. Did cool guy Shit treated casualties all that. Then got back and got orders for Korea. Got stuck in a med company, left Korea orders for Hood. Same story.
Also, promotion as a medic sucks cause there are so many of us e4 and below. But you do you man

>>31893172
I've already sworn in and signed my contact at this point, honestly I'd love to do the high speed shot with infantry but at the end of the day if they need to send me to POG Nation then I'll go, I know that's just part and parcel of wanting to be in a medical role. I'll still probably have more fun than a veterinarian food tester.

>>31893330
Same dude. It's not more fun. It's loading and unloading conexes, mandatory training, and dealing with fat fucking e7s who care more about appearance than substance. And you can go change your contract. Your recruiter is straight up fucking lying if he says you can't.

>>31892632

Reclass to a 68C instead if your GT score is high enough. Free LPN school, basically an instant fast track to E6. Do that for an active duty stint and then take bridge classes to a BSN and you can commission straight out of that. Instant medical career in one contract, with no student debt at all.

Yes, you'll get stuck in a turbo-POG medical unit full of E8 salty ass combat medics that basically stand around and tell dumb stories like an Army Medic version of Nap Dynamite's Uncle Rico. Then you'll have O4+'s all over the place that can do Calc III level integrals in their head but can't tie their own boots.

Yes, it'll suck. But you'll have an honest to god career out of it, and if you score high enough in the BSN stuff, you can go advanced from there in CRNA or NP roles, all on the Army's dime in exchange for another 6 year+ contract.

But if you're hell bent on doing the 68W gig, do everything you can to PT your brains out.

Ruck occasionally but don't beat yourself to death with it, because you need to save that for the actual Army stuff. If you have 9 months focus instead on getting a good diet, lots of cardio, and building core strength in addition to lots of pushups and sit-ups. Your PT score will be a resume and if you can push 300 that will help you immensely in getting more say in where you end up and how.

Buy the best footwear you can find for PT - spend $100+ on good cross-training shoes from a fitness specialty store that actually measures your feet and gets the correct arch support, etc. That will help avoid a LOT of pain and potential injury. Good luck anon.

>>31892632
Paramedic here. How does one get contracted to be a combat medic. I have a degree and wanted to do ocs with the marine corps, but as there are no medics in the corps would my job affect that? Would I be able to go into the Navy Asa corpsman?

>>31893971
That sounds good to me

>>31892632
Dont ruck with too much weight. It only takes a few days for your body to get used to rucking with heavy shit.

>>31894835
I'm not planning on going 0 to 100 straight away, as I said I have time so I'm going to build up incrementally.

>>31894098
Army medics and Navy corpsmen are essentially EMT-Bs with a bit larger scope of practice (push drugs/cric/etc.) If you're already a P, you would kinda be going backwards career-wise.

See if you can get a contract for PA or LPN. Uncle Sam pays for school and you come out as an officer. Trust me, that's the smart way to have a medical career in the military.

t. Army flight medic who spent 6 shitty years as a 68W before actually getting to do any cool guy shit.

>>31896297
which branch? Navy? I'd always wanted to join the Marines simply because its generally the shittiest place to be and I have a complex where i can't stand the idea of not living up to the toughest shittiest conditions i can put myself in. But then again, my family does have a Navy tradition

Beware of the pushing of your ship date OP, I dropped because they continuously pushed my ship date back. Remember, they don't really care about you after you sign on the dotted line.

>>31897709
I didn't push it back, if I had it my way I'd be shipping next month but because I'm a green card holder I've been told I have to wait 6 months for "advanced vetting"... but I'm allowed to go and train with a unit as though I'm reserve... and have camp access for that unit... but the government haven't decided yet whether I'm a terrorist or not...

>>31893172
>Also, promotion as a medic sucks cause there are so many of us e4 and below

That's everywhere except for chaplains and maybe their assistants.

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I would appreciate if any medics could voice an opinion on these:

Should I replace my tape with an ace wrap?
How much gauze should I have?
Is Quickclot gauze that much better than powder?
Is a chest seal worth getting without a decompression needle?
Anything else I'm missing?

>>31897701
Go Navy, git gud and suck dick till and hope you end up as a Marine Force Fleet corpsmen.

You'll make less money but if that's what makes you genuinely happy do it faggot

>>31892632
OP you might want to rethink your training. Running with a heavy as fuck pack to get fit is not only inefficient, it's also guaranteed to fuck up your knees and ankles, probably your hips and back too for good measure.

Your time will be better spent doing normal running and gymning, you can get a nice routine going to build up all your muscles and it will also be nice and spread so you can go all out without having to worry about injury, unlike the guaranteed torn ligaments, compressed meniscus etc. you will get from running with a pack full of weights.

>>31899100
>Should I replace my tape with an ace wrap?
I personally have no preference either way, go with what you can get cheaper.
>How much gauze should I have?
You can literally never have enough gauze. Never. Stuff that shit in any pocket you can find.
>Is Quickclot gauze that much better than powder?
Don't know which is better but have both.
>Is a chest seal worth getting without a decompression needle?
Why wouldn't you get a decompression needle?
>Anything else I'm missing?
I only see one tourniquet. You should get another. One goes just proximal to the wound, the other goes on the nearest point you can easily compress the arteries, not too tight, just enough to slightly lessen blood flow proximal to the first one. Learnt that trick from a paramedic that always used it for bullets to the femoral artery, he would put the second one as close to the groin as he could get it.
You also need more bandages. No point having enough gauze if there's nothing to keep it on with. Get a few triangular bandages too, they work well for making slings. Keep a couple rolled up into a torus so you can quickly use them to stop bleeding from a stick wound.
Keep a few suturing kits on hand too, and don't forget a few gloves and a CPR barrier device and a bunch of condoms.

I get this is probably supposed to be a small EDC first aid kit but since you're carrying fabric scissors, quick-clot and want a chest seal I figured you would want to go all out.

I recommend just buying a nice first aid kit from somewhere, it's much cheaper than assembling your own.

Former HM2 here.

Our packs weren't really all that heavy. In it, we'd carry three "footballs" (that is, IV kits that have been packaged together so that all the necessary items are in one spot), and that was probably the part that weighed most.

Overall I'd sad that the packs weighed somewhere between 25-30 lbs, but we'd train with much, much more weight so that felt like nothing

>>31893013
Rome wasn't built in a day. 8 months isn't that long, so find a workout plan, stick to it, and work you fucking ass off. If you aren't in great shape, you need to be working every fucking day to ensure that you will be. Eat right too.
>>31893330
Until you get on the bus, you can change your contract/mos/literally anything. If your recruiter tells you you cant, find another one or tell that guy to fuck off.

I was a grunt, but had a few corpsman friends. All of them fucking hated being sent back to blueside or pog units. Think about what you really want to do, be a doc or be a doorkicker. You very likely wont be able to choose both, and certainly not for your entire career.

>>31899205
Great post.

As a combat medic in my countrys army, were basically trained to use a single tourniquet and that's always applied as high as possible on the injured arm/leg (up the groin or really close to the shoulder).

But that just might be for budjetary reasons.

>>31899100

>Should I replace my tape with an ace wrap?

Ace Wrap is good for musculoskeletal injuries since it can be reused if need be, but if you anticipate it getting bloody, keep the tape. Tape is disposable and less expensive.

>How much gauze should I have?

Do you anticipate some serious wounds? Then carry a ton. Otherwise, a half-package of 2x2 and 4x4 should be good for most open wounds, but a roll of gauze is better for packing.

>Is Quickclot gauze that much better than powder?

Gauze is always better than powder, homie.

>Is a chest seal worth getting without a decompression needle?

If you suspect you'll ever be in a situation in which you HAVE to apply an occlusive dressing to a sucking chest wound, having a kit to perform needle decompression is a no-brainer.

>Anything else I'm missing?

You don't have a single goddamn tourniquet in that pack, man. What the fuck

>>31899100
Like the other guy said tape is personal preference.
Again as much gauze as you can.
I'd get the one built in, the powder can be a pain and is even harder to fix without surgery because of all the pieces that can break off and throw clots god knows where.
Seal yes needle no unless you are trained otherwise you'll probably fuck up and do more harm than good.

>>31899252

Whoops, I missed the tourniquet entirely. Regardless, I'd just carry it on your person so you don't have to fight with Velcro or anything. We all kept the tourniquets in our left leg pocket-- that way there was no mistaking on where to find one in case shit went haywire.

>>31899249

He's right-- a tourniquet should be applied as high up on an artery as possible (i.e. near the groin, near the armpit, etc). I don't know why anyone was taught that it should be done "2-3 inches above the wound", but I've had to reteach people tourniquet methods because that kind of misinformation kept getting around

>>31899205
Thanks doc!

>>31899131
I was never planning on running with it, I know that'll fuck my day up faster than a drill Sgt on Crack. I was planning once a week going for a hike with it and slowly working up the distance and weight.

>>31899259

>unless you are trained otherwise you'll probably fuck up and do more harm than good

Aim between the 2nd and 3rd rib, in the intercostal space. This isn't really something that comes without training, so unless Medic McGee is some sort of combat medicine savant, a needle-D kit won't do much for him. I don't even think people can get training on this outside of paramedic/combat medicine courses, desu

>>31899259
>>31899263
You guys are the best.

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>>31899100
I've seen this pic floating around which may help.

>>31899279

>two tourniquets

This is ideal. One for you, one for another poor soul

>>31899264
Any time. If you want to buy a first aid kit you should probably get one that says "IFAK" (individual first aid kit) as it seems that's what you want. And don't listen to >>31899252 if someone tries to tell you that you have enough gauze they're wrong. You can never have enough gauze. (Seriously though don't just replace things with gauze, then you will become lazy like the paramedics that use tourniquets instead of dressings. But if you have free space after adding everything, add more gauze)


>>31899264
Oh yeah that's definitely a better idea. It won't get you that fit in 8 months though. It's definitely a good idea to include it, but you should also do lots of other exercises to get fit.

>>31899249 the way first aid courses are taught here is that the tourniquets are supposed to be applied as close to the wound as possible to limit necrotic tissue, and they're just supposed to hold until paramedics or EMTs can arrive and do it properly. Now that I'm in hospitals I see the double tourniquets coming in all the time, although they never do the proximal one very tight. The distal one is as tight as possible and then the proximal one is added and tightened until there is no bleeding. I once even saw one where the distal one was tied around the cubical fossa to prevent forearm blood loss while the proximal one was just one of the elastic tourniquets used for taking blood.

>>31899320
>One for you, one for another poor soul
in reality, one TQ isnt always sufficient for one injury, thats why you bring more than one

>>31899332

Nigga I didn't say that he should only carry "just enough" gauze. I was saying variety is key and a roll of gauze is better for packing wounds.

You're right, though. Gauze should take up space other items haven't taken up

LOW PRO IFAK POUCH?????

my PC is small, I like to keep it small I have EMT-B and combat life saver already don't bother I just need a pouch please what get? thank you my friends.

>>31899518
For a couple of dollars you can get a little wallet sort of deal with gloves, gauze and a bit of other assorted kit in it that you can fit in your pocket. You won't be saving any lives with it but it's better than rubbing in some dirt

>>31899518
>Combat life saver

What is/was your MOS?

>>31899100
If you have to question whether to buy a decomp needle, you prove you do not know how to use one. If you do not know how to use one, do not carry one or else you'll put a fucking hole in someone's heart

Awesome to come across this thread. I'd really like to go into the army and, when my time is up, go into the civilian life as a PA. What would the best path be for this? Enlist as 68W and work my way up to IPAP? Or should i use my bachelors degree (graduating next year) and try to become 70b (health care specialist)? How hard is it to get accepted into the IPAP? And can i apply to it right out of school or is it only available to people with previous military service? Looking for a military career with some hands on healthcare and give me plenty of healthcare experience.

I also have the basic level emt certification. Planning on using this summer to move up to the next.

>>31899679
That's some strange logic. I assume you were miraculously born with this knowledge then? Thanks for reminding me how stupid I am.

>>31893971
Civilian in nursing school here. Absolutely think about what this guy said. So many guys in the military get out only to discover that there are no jobs back home. Nursing is one of the few career paths slated to still be growing at a good rate in 2020. If you can lay the ground work now to get in during the next 4-6 years, you'll be golden. And if you want to do cool guy shit, become a civilian nurse when your time in is up and go into a pediatric oncology surgical center. Everyone at the bar thinks that the 11b veteran has the coolest stories until the salty, exhausted looking guy wearing scrubs turns on his stool and says "i save kids with cancer for a living."

>>31899851
He does have a good point. This isn't something you can learn from a manual, don't know about in the US but over here it's not even taught in first aid unless you do the top level qualification, which includes stuff like intubation and emergency childbirth, so quite a lot of shit.

You should definitely take a first aid course, as advanced as possible.if it's anything like here there are three levels. You will need to start off with a weekend course that will cover the basics. It will be around 20 hours for 60 dollars go over a bit of the basics, then you can probably jump straight into the highest qualification, which will be maybe 40 hours for double the price, and expand on the basics so it's actually useful and then add in a bit of extra stuff.

Don't get me wrong I would rather stick a needle in my own chest than let someone with only first aid experience do it, but it's some super useful knowledge to have, plus it will teach you how to use that first aid kit.

Oh and if you can make sure your course is taught by a paramedic or ex paramedic, they always have the best advice and tips and tricks

>>31900110
Okay. I can appreciate that.

I work in security and honestly all I actually carry is a small pouch with one plastic resus mask, some nitrile gloves and an antiseptic wipe.

My reasoning is I'll either be the very first one on the scene so gloves and resus mask will likely do the trick and if I'm not the first one on the scene then I'll be responding with the full first aid kit.

There's no point in me wandering around tooled up like some Tom Clancy shit and making myself look like a total faggot.

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Poorfag ifak for someone with no experience? I just want some stuff to put in the grenade pouches of my type 56 just encase.

>>31900242
Poorfag? Gauze, gauze and did I mention gauze?

>>31899332
Ahh there you go. Necrotic tissue.

That will probably not be the real issue with our medical evacuation times.

You get shot, you probably lose your arm.

>>31901920
I always thought TQ'S were only applied when there is an arterial bleed or catastrophic injury such as an amputation. If I got shot in the outer thigh my first thought wouldn't be to slap on a TQ it would be a bandage or gauze

>>31902157
Pretty much we're told to always treat a limb-shot with a TQ, because lets face it. You won't really have the time to analyze if it penetrated an artery or not.

A sort of, better safe than dead.

But ideally, yes. TQ when there is arterial damage, bandages when not. Always treat the limb as broken also.

>>31900242

>No experience IFAK

A cell phone to call 911.

Im 4'11" and 115lbs. How fucked am i in relation to training? Im scared ill fail because ill be too weak to carry my battle buddies or something

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>>31899100

alcohol pads are cool but are kind of irritating to fiddle with in the heat of the moment.

chlorapreps are cool because they're big and easy to handle, though im not sure how well they hold up to rough and tumble.

also like what other guys have said. unless you're trained, invasive interventions like needle decompression should probably be avoided. im not saying you need years of experience but if you're gonna carry big boy tools you should know how to use them properly.

>>31902864
>ill be too weak to carry my battle buddies or something

over-the-shoulder body carrying is a meme, you're more than likely going to be dragging them. and if they have a vest with a drag handle its honestly a piece of cake to do. actually dragging/carrying where you're holding the person is exhausting as hell and is very energy inefficient.

>>31900242
Get
-1 Cat tourniquet
-2 H&H packs
-1 6inch israeli dressing
-1 Nasopharyngeal Airway


That all should be under $50 and fit in 2 of those pouches except the tourniquet. Its the minimum you should have.

>>31902814
>No experience IFAK
An IFAK is to be used ON you not BY you. Its to keep the medic well supplied so he doesn't have to take basic supplies like gauze and tourniquets out of his pack when he first gets to a casualty.

>>31902785
>You won't really have the time to analyze if it penetrated an artery or not.
Trust me man. you know.