Combatmedic

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Combatmedics(alsoknownasmedics)aremilitarypersonnelwho
havebeentrainedtoatleastanEMTBasiclevel(16weekcoursein
theU.S.Army),[1]andwhoareresponsibleforprovidingfirstaid
andfrontlinetraumacareonthebattlefield.Theyarealso
responsibleforprovidingcontinuingmedicalcareintheabsenceof
areadilyavailablephysician,includingcarefordiseaseandbattle
injury.Combatmedicsarenormallycolocatedwiththecombat
troopstheyserveinordertoeasilymovewiththetroopsand
monitorongoinghealth.

Contents

Medicalteamatworkduringthe
BattleofNormandy.

1Genevaconventionprotection
2History
3RedCross,RedCrescent,andMDA
4Modernday
5Seealso
6References
7Externallinks

Genevaconventionprotection

Norwegianmedicsduringanexercise.

In1864,sixteenEuropeanstatesadoptedthefirsteverGeneva
Conventiontosavelivestoalleviatethesufferingofwoundedand
sickcombatants,andtoprotecttrainedmedicalpersonnelasnon
combatants,intheactofrenderingaid.
ChapterIV,Article25oftheGenevaConventionstatesthat:
"Membersofthearmedforcesspeciallytrainedforemployment,
shouldtheneedarise,ashospitalorderlies,nursesorauxiliary
stretcherbearers,inthesearchfororthecollection,transportor
SwedishArmymedicinAfghanistan
treatmentofthewoundedandsickshalllikewiseberespectedand
2006.
protectediftheyarecarryingoutthesedutiesatthetimewhenthey
comeintocontactwiththeenemyorfallintohishands."Article29
reads:"MembersofthepersonneldesignatedinArticle25whohavefallenintothehandsoftheenemy,
shallbeprisonersofwar,butshallbeemployedontheirmedicaldutiesinsofarastheneedarises."
AccordingtotheGenevaConvention,knowinglyfiringatamedicwearingclearinsigniaisawarcrime.[2]

Inmoderntimes,mostcombatmedicscarryapersonalweapon,tobeusedtoprotectthemselvesandthe
woundedorsickintheircare.[3]Whenandiftheyusetheirarmsoffensively,theythensacrificetheir
protectionundertheGenevaConventions.Thesemedicsarespecificallytrained.[4]

History
SurgeonDominiqueJeanLarreydirectedtheGrandeArmeof
Napoleontodevelopmobilefieldhospitals,or"ambulances
volantes"(flyingambulances),inadditiontoacorpsoftrainedand
equippedsoldierstoaidthoseonthebattlefield.BeforeLarrey's
initiativeinthe1790s,woundedsoldierswereeitherleftamidthe
fightinguntilthecombatendedortheircomradeswouldcarrythem
totherearline.
ItwasduringtheAmericanCivilWarthatSurgeon(Major)
JonathanLetterman,MedicalDirectoroftheArmyofthePotomac,
realizedaneedforanintegratedmedicaltreatmentandevacuation
system.Hesawtheneedtoequipthissystemwithitsowndedicated
vehicles,organizations,facilities,andpersonnel.TheLetterman
planwasfirstimplementedinSeptember1862attheBattleof
Antietam,Maryland.
TheUnitedStatesArmysneedformedicalandscientificspecialty
officerstosupportcombatoperationsresultedinthecreationoftwo
temporarycomponents:theU.S.ArmyAmbulanceService,
IDFfielddoctorstraininginIsrael
establishedonJune23,1917andtheSanitaryCorps,establishedon
June30,1917.OfficersoftheSanitaryCorpsservedinmedical
logistics,hospitaladministration,patientadministration,resourcemanagement,xray,laboratory
engineering,physicalreconstruction,gasdefense,andvenerealdiseasecontrol.Theywerededicated
membersofthemedicalteamthatenabledAmericangeneralstoconcentrateonenemythreatsratherthan
epidemicthreats.OnAugust4,1947,CongresscreatedtheNavyMedicalServiceCorps.[5]
IntheUnitedStates,areportentitled"AccidentalDeathandDisability:TheNeglectedDiseaseofModern
Society(1966)",waspublishedbyNationalAcademyofSciencesandtheNationalResearchCouncil.
Betterknownas"TheWhitePaper"toemergencyproviders,itrevealedthatsoldierswhowereseriously
woundedonthebattlefieldsofVietnamhadabettersurvivalratethanthoseindividualswhowereseriously
injuredinmotorvehicleaccidentsonCaliforniafreeways.Earlyresearchattributedthesedifferencesin
outcometoanumberoffactors,includingcomprehensivetraumacare,rapidtransporttodesignatedtrauma
facilities,andanewtypeofmedicalcorpsman,onewhowastrainedtoperformcertaincriticaladvanced
medicalproceduressuchasfluidreplacementandairwaymanagement,whichallowedthevictimtosurvive
thejourneytodefinitivecare.

RedCross,RedCrescent,andMDA
TheInternationalCommitteeoftheRedCross,aprivatehumanitarianinstitutionbasedinSwitzerland,
providedthefirstofficialsymbolformedicalpersonnel.ThefirstGenevaconvention,originallycalledfor
"AmeliorationoftheConditionoftheWoundedandSickinArmedForcesintheField,"officiallyadopted

theredcrossonafieldofwhiteastheidentifyingemblem.Thissymbolwasmeanttosignifytoenemy
combatantsthatthemedicqualifiesasanoncombatant,atleastwhileprovidingmedicalcare.[6]Islamic
countriesuseaRedCrescentinstead.Duringthe18761878war
betweenRussiaandTurkey,theOttomanEmpiredeclaredthatit
wouldusearedcrescentinsteadofaredcrossasitsemblem,
althoughitagreedtorespecttheredcrossusedbytheotherside.
Althoughthesesymbolswereofficiallysponsoredbythe
InternationalFederationofRedCrossandRedCrescentSocieties,
theMagenDavidAdom("MDA"),Israel'semergencyreliefservice,
usedtheMagenDavid(aredstarofDavidonawhitebackground).
IsraelimedicsstillweartheMagenDavid.ToenableMDAto
becomeafullyrecognizedandparticipatingmemberofthe
AU.S.Armycombatmedic(center)
InternationalRedCrossandRedCrescentMovement,ProtocolIII
inAfghanistan.Notethattheonly
wasadopted.ItisanamendmenttotheGenevaConventionsrelating
distinguishingfeatureisthemedical
totheAdoptionofanAdditionalDistinctiveEmblemandauthorizes
packonhisback.
theuseofanewemblem,knownasthethirdprotocolemblemorthe
RedCrystal.Forindicativeuseonforeignterritory,anynational
societycanincorporateitsuniquesymbolintotheRedCrystal.
UnderProtocolIII,theMDAwillcontinuetoemploytheredMagenDavidfordomesticuse,andwill
employtheredcrystaloninternationalreliefmissions.

Modernday
Traditionally,medicalpersonneldidnotcarryweaponsandworea
distinguishingredcross,todenotetheirprotectionasnon
combatantsundertheGenevaConvention.Thispracticecontinued
intoWorldWarII.However,theenemiesfacedbyprofessional
armiesinmorerecentconflictsareofteninsurgentswhoeitherdo
notrecognizetheGenevaConvention,ordonotcare,andreadily
engageallpersonnel,irrespectiveofnoncombatantstatus.Also,
Americanmedicsinboththeatersreportedtakinghostilefire.For
thesereasons,mostmoderncombatmedicsarearmedanddonot
weardistinguishingmarkings.[7]CombatMedicsintheUnited
StatesArmyandUnitedStatesNavyHospitalCorpsmenare
virtuallyindistinguishablefromregularcombattroops,exceptfor
theextramedicalequipmenttheycarry.

U.S.NavyHospitalCorpsman
providingtreatmenttoawounded
Iraqisoldier,2003.

IntheU.S.Navy,enlistedmedicalpersonnelareknownasCorpsmen,notmedics.Thecolloquialformof
addressforaHospitalCorpsmanis"Doc."IntheU.S.MarineCorps,thistermisgenerallyusedasasignof
respect.TheU.S.NavydeploysFMFHospitalCorpsmanattachedtoU.S.MarineCorpsunitsaspartofthe
FleetMarineForce.SincetheU.S.MarineCorpsispartoftheDepartmentoftheNavy,itreliesonNavy
CorpsmenandotherNavalmedicalpersonnelformedicalcare.
USAFmedicshavefrequentlyservedattachedtoU.S.Armyunitsinrecentconflicts.Thoughallcombat
medicalpersonnelareuniversallyreferredtoas"medic",withindifferentbranchesoftheU.S.military,the
skilllevel,qualityoftrainingandscopeofworkperformedbymedicsvariesfrombranchtobranch.The

U.SArmycommonlyaddressesLineMedicsas"Doc"providedthattheyhaveearnedthetitle,asitdoes
notcomeeasily.
Asaresultofthe2005BRAC,theU.S.DepartmentofDefensehasmovedmostmedicaltrainingforall
branchesofthearmedforcestoFortSamHoustonofJointBaseSanAntonio.[8]AnewMedicalEducation
andTrainingCampuswasconstructedandtheAirForce's937thTrainingGroupandNavalHospitalCorps
SchoolwererelocatedtoFortSamHouston,joiningtheArmy'sexistingArmyMedicalDepartmentCenter
&School.[9]Althougheachservicehassometrainingparticulartoitsbranch,thebulkofthecourse
materialandinstructionissharedbetweenmedicalpersonnelofthedifferentservices.

Seealso

AU.S.SpecialForcesmedicin
Afghanistan.

68WHealthcareSpecialist(Combat
Medic,U.S.Army)
AmbulanceMilitaryuse
Battlefieldmedicine
BrainTraumaFoundation
Combatsupporthospital
Flightmedic
Medicalassistant

Medicalevacuation
Militarymedicine
Polytrauma
RoyalArmyMedicalCorps
UnitedStatesAirForcePararescue
UnitedStatesNavyHospitalCorpsman
(U.S.Navy)
UnitedStatesNavyAmphibious
ReconnaissanceCorpsman(U.S.Navy)

References
STP891W15SMTGSOLDIER'SMANUALANDTRAINER'S
GUIDE,MOS91W,HEALTHCARESPECIALIST,SKILL
LEVELS1/2/3/4/5

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoCombat
medics.

1. "TheAcademyofHealthSciencesCourseCatalog2011(Course#30068W10)"
(http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/FileDownloadpublic.aspx?docid=cb46f487fdbc46718f16f94d63b2eb88).U.S.
ArmyMedicalDepartmentCenterandSchool,FortSamHouston,TX.2011.Retrieved20130225.
2. "InternationalHumanitarianLawFirst1949GenevaConvention"(http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/365
570030?OpenDocument).Icrc.org.19490812.Retrieved20101213.
3. "InternationalHumanitarianLawFirst1949GenevaConvention"(http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/365
570027?OpenDocument).Icrc.org.19490812.Retrieved20101213.
4. "InternationalHumanitarianLawFirst1949GenevaConvention"(http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/365
570026?OpenDocument).Icrc.org.19490812.Retrieved20101213.
5. http://home.att.net/~steinert/#Brief%20History%20of%20the%20Medical%20Corps
6. "InternationalHumanitarianLawFirst1949GenevaConvention"(http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/365
570047?OpenDocument).Icrc.org.19490812.Retrieved20101213.
7. Middleton,ThomasA.(2010)."Saber'sEdge:ACombatMedicinRamadi,Iraq",p.7.UPNE.
8. SteveElliott."AllmilitarymedicaltrainingroadsnowstartatMETC"(http://www.aetc.af.mil/news/story.asp?
id=123211901).Aetc.af.mil.Retrieved20130208.
9. "BRAC2005recommendationsexpandFortSamHoustontobecomeDoDspremiermedicaltrainingbaseand
thehomeofArmyinstallationmanagement,andmanagementoffamilysupportactivitiesandcommunity
program"(http://www.aetc.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD071026035.pdf)(PDF).aetc.af.mil.Retrieved
7March2014.

Externallinks
OfficialU.S.ArmyHomeofthe68WHealthCareSpecialist(http://www.cs.amedd.army.mil/68w/)
Corpsman.com(http://www.corpsman.com)awebsiterunbyDocsforDocsofallUSmilitary
services
90thInfantryDivision/315thMedicalBattalion(http://www.90thidpg.us/Medical/index.html)
webpage(90thInfantryDivisionPreservationGroupwebsite)haslinkstootherpagesshowing
equipmentofUS,GermanandJapanesemedics
WW2USMedicalResearchCentreprovidesvastamountsofdatarelatingtoWW2USArmy
Medics(http://www.meddept.com/)
NationalRegistryofEmergencyMedicalTechnicians(http://www.nremt.org)
NationalAssociationofEmergencyMedicalTechnicians(http://www.naemt.org)
NHTSAEmergencyMedicalServices(http://www.ems.gov)officialwebsite(U.S.NationalHighway
TrafficSafetyAdministration)
TheshortfilmBigPicture:BloodandBullets(https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.2569488)
isavailableforfreedownloadattheInternetArchive
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Categories: Combatmedics
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