Bluemirage said:
Thanks NGDOC and cdreed for sharing your detailed responses!
NGDOC: I'm not necessarily looking to be in the front lines where the intense combat is but I would like to be at least be trained in combat as thoroughly as some of the best soldiers so that if I ever get deployed and the medical unit is under attack I can adaquately defend myself and the medical facilities. I have some follow up questions:
1)Are medics allowed to take extra elective combat training without having to actually be in Airbourne, Special Forces/ Rangers etc?
2)What kind of procedures/hands experience (sutures? Airways? IV's?)will I receive as an Army Medic? How long is the training, if I chose to do the paramedic training (EMT-P)? I'm really looking to learn as much clinical stuff as I can so that I will be thoroughly prepared for medical school and surgery rotations (I'm interested to specialize in a surgical/procedure orientated field).It won't hurt to have this in my application EC's either!
3) Do you think medical schools will look down on my application, anticipating my deployment during school, if they saw that I'm the reserves? If I'm activated for active duty while I'm attending medical school, is the school obligated to hold my spot upon my return? Or can they legally release it to someone else? Is there a limit to the amount of times for deployment during the six year reserve commitment?
4) If I move for medical school, is it pretty easy for me to transfer my duties to another military base?
cdreed: Since you've been an AF medic and dated an army combat medic, can you compare any differences in the clinical experiences between AF and army medics? Sounds like you had some great clinical experiences during your time! I think the advantage of going through medic training for me is that whether I choose AF or army I can stay exactly where I am! (I live in San Antonio TX - I'll be either at BAM-C or Wilford Hall) I wonder if I am allowed to go home everyday during my medic training?
Thanks again for your generous time in answering all of my questions
Well I'll just go down the list again. No matter your branch in the Army, every soldier goes through the same training. You will be living and learning with soldiers destined for Active duty, the Reserves, and the National Guard. On the topic of defense, it is against the Geneva Convention for medical personnel to carry an offensive weapon. This doesnt mean that you wont be trained on the Army's offensive arsenal. During basic you will shoot the M-16, SAW, M-203, and the AT4. Mind you that the 203 and AT4 are HE rounds and you will only fire simulators. For the 203, paint rounds will be used. The AT4 will have one soldier firing a live round (which is very cool to see. Think loud whistle, big boom) while you fire 9mm tracer rounds. Personally, I carry an M-9 which is a 9mm pistol. It is only to be used for defense of myself and my patients. If it is used to fire openly on an enemy combatant, I will lose my neutrality and become an active combatant. Not like the Insurgents care if your medic or not, just giving you the rules of war. I have seen medics who are assigned to ambulances carry m-16s but that is an entirely different situation.
On your question of extra training. The only way for a medic to recieve extra training without going to schools if to be assigned to an infantry unit. You would do everything the grunts do and hopefully learn alot about the Army's combat doctrine. A drawback of this would be the high probability for the deployment of such units, considering the need for infantry boots in Iraq.
The training for Army medics takes around 16 weeks. During that time, the main focus of instruction will be on patching holes, maintaining an airway, and administering tourniquets. The use of IVs, injections, and cricothyroidectomy (sp?) are also taught. Sutures and other internal procedures will not be preformed by you so are therefore not taught to you. There are two days during training where you will head to either the base hospital or the TMC, which is a battalion level clinic. Although Fort Sam's TMC is used by the entire base. During your time there, under the supervision of nurses and PAs, you will be allowed to practice your skills on actual patients (Soldiers, family member, even your fellow 91W classmates).
There is no possibility of becoming an EMT-P through the army. There is an additional course you can take after graduation of the 91W. Called the 91W-M6 program, it will take an additional year of training at Fort Sam but during that year, you will become a certified LPN. Thats as far as initial enlisted training will go.
I am not sure how medical schools will look upon your service, but my theory is that it will never hurt to have your service provided on an application. If you are deployed while in med school, your spot is saved for you through a federal program. The same goes with jobs. You will simply return your last courses and start as if you never left. As for a limit on the amount of time spent on active duty, it is usually 1 year active, 2 years home although I have seen in the news a bill in which the amount of time on active duty by the reserve compnent soldiers would be unlimited. Who knows how thats going to work out.
In the Guard, you likely wont work on a base but at a unit. A building designated to one or more companies. Moving shouldnt have become a problem as long as you can find a unit that needs a medic. You will have to have permission from your unit commander but its unlikely that they will stop you from transfering (Pending deployments will likely stop the transfer).
Finally, you will not be allowed to return home every night. Your stay for 91W training is highly regulated. During the first month the entire company is on Phase 4 (Phase 1, 2, and 3 during basic). Phase 4 means total lockdown. The DS will march the company anywhere you need to go. Weekends are spent in the barracks cleaning the floors and shining boots. After the initial month, the company graduates to Phase 5. This means that you are able to leave the base on weekends (if you can sneak it, weekdays too) and will only be marched in the morning and when returning to the barracks. A month or two later, the company will once again graduate but this time to Phase 5+. This phase is transitioning you into the Army life, your allowed free roam of the base, the use of cars (except Delta who doesnt allow them) and the freedom to basically do whatever you want. During Phase 5 and 5+, you will still be required to stay in the barracks, but after class ends (usually around 1500 - 1600) you can drive off base and visit your family. You will need to be back by 2100.
I hope these answers will help you decide which branch you are most interested in. If you have anymore, please feel free to ask them and I will do my best to tell you what I know.
