The Medic

Lore & Background

The Roman Army used combat medics called Capsarii, named after the box (capsa) of bandages they carried. Forts could have hospitals integrated into their designs. Surgeon Dominique Jean Larrey directed Napoleon's Grande Armée to develop mobile field hospitals, or ambulances volantes ('flying ambulances'), and a corps of trained soldiers (infirmiers tenues de service) to aid the wounded. Before Larrey's initiative in the 1790s, wounded soldiers were left amid the fighting until combat ended or comrades carried them to the rear. During the American Civil War, musicians had the double duty of acting as stretcher-bearers to move the wounded to field hospitals and assisting surgeons. The results were uneven: some became adept, others were more hindrance than help. Surgeon (Major) Jonathan Letterman, Medical Director of the A...

In Their Own Story

The air tasted of cordite and wet earth as the sniper's round shattered the silence. 'Medic!' someone screamed, but the voice was cut short by another explosion. I didn't hesitate, sprinting across the open ground while bullets kicked up dirt around my boots. Kneeling beside him, I saw the crimson spreading on his chest, the color of life fading fast. My hands moved automatically, deploying the defibrillator pads and shouting over the roar of artillery. The machine hummed, a sharp electric crack followed by a gasp for air. He looked up, eyes wide with shock and relief. 'Back in it,' he wheezed. I nodded, grabbing his rifle. We weren't done yet.

Reader's Guide

In Canada, Regular Force Medical Technicians train at the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, then at the Canadian Forces Health Services Training Centre in Borden, Ontario. Over 47-48 weeks they learn to maintain medical supplies, screen patients, implement care plans, treat conditions, administer diagnostic procedures, medications, and continuous infusions, manage airways, assist with minor surgical procedures, set up deployed medical facilities, and treat casualties in operational and CBRNE environments. They earn Primary Care Paramedic Level 1 certification. Advanced training can include Preventive Medicine, Biomedical electronics, and Aviation Physiology. Medical Technicians may be posted to any Canadian ship or base as part of emergency response, clinic, or hospital. They can deploy as the medical detachment of an infantry platoon, on a MEDEVAC helicopter team, or on a naval vessel. Soldiers customarily refer to their platoon medic as 'Doc.' In the United States, all military medical training takes place at Joint Base San Antonio, Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Army Combat Medics, Air Force Medical Technicians, and Navy Hospital Corpsman complete their programs there. Combat Medics are certified at the Emergency Medical Technician level upon graduation, but their scope often parallels or surpasses that of a paramedic, expanded by the medical provider assigned to the unit. Army medics follow a career progression where each rank above Specialist/Corporal (E4) requires additional knowledge and skills. Medics may diagnose illnesses and perform procedures usually done by Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, and Physicians. Educational opportunities include Combat Paramedic Course, Special Operations Combat Medic Course, Prolonged Field Care Course, Flight Medic/Critical Care Course, and advanced Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) such as cadaver labs, which use goats as training aids due to their similarity to human physiology. Medics often train on skills and medications outside civilian counterparts' scope. Many programs give preference to military medics transitioning into Paramedic, Registered Nurse (RN), and Physician Assistant (PA) education. Medics may be assigned to combat support hospital units, forward surgical teams, and military treatment facilities and clinics, fulfilling roles from administrative duties to laboratory and medical equipment operations. When assigned to non-medical field units such as infantry, armored cavalry, artillery, combat engineers, and military police, the medical platoon is organic to the Headquarters and Headquarters Company/Detachment. The platoon usually has three sections: Ambulance/Evac Section, Combat Medic/Line Medic Section, and BAS/Treatment section. Ambulance/Evac medics function like civilian ambulances, responding to and transporting patients. BAS/Treatment medics function like urgent care or small emergency departments, intaking, triaging, stabilizing, or treating patients for transfer or discharge. Line medics are the most independent; they are attached to other platoons within a company and oversee medical care of 30 to 60 soldiers. They do everything their assigned soldiers do from training to missions, are first to treat injuries, and advise leaders on medical planning. They carry a regular soldier's load plus an aid bag and other medical supplies. They must be very physically fit and able to function in highly stressful tactical situations. In the U.S. armed forces, service members in line units often refer to their assigned combat medic or hospital corpsman as 'Doc.'

Did You Know?

• The Roman Army used combat medics called Capsarii, named after the box (capsa) of bandages they carried.
• Surgeon Dominique Jean Larrey directed Napoleon's Grande Armée to develop mobile field hospitals called ambulances volantes ('flying ambulances') in the 1790s.
• During the American Civil War, musicians had the double duty of acting as stretcher-bearers to move the wounded to field hospitals and assisting surgeons.
• In Canada, Medical Technicians earn Primary Care Paramedic Level 1 certification after 47-48 weeks of training.
• In the U.S., advanced Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) training uses goats as training aids due to their similarity to human physiology.