Maj Chris Nelson 51439 <div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I started as an enlisted Army Medic, progressed up the chain to E-5, switched to the Air Force as a Nurse.... in almost all cases, I tend to feel that &quot;medics&quot; are less...until someone gets hurt.&amp;nbsp; Do you see medics as part of the military or do you see medics as &quot;those damn medics&quot;....&amp;nbsp; Justify by why you feel the way you do. 2014-02-04T21:41:53-05:00 Maj Chris Nelson 51439

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I started as an enlisted Army Medic, progressed up the chain to E-5, switched to the Air Force as a Nurse.... in almost all cases, I tend to feel that &quot;medics&quot; are less...until someone gets hurt.&amp;nbsp; Do you see medics as part of the military or do you see medics as &quot;those damn medics&quot;....&amp;nbsp; Justify by why you feel the way you do.

2014-02-04T21:41:53-05:00 2014-02-04T21:41:53-05:00 1SG Johnny Carter 51443

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I see medics as part of the military but at time I question why they give multiple temp profiles out and not really look into what is wrong with Soldiers. A Soldier could ride a profile forever and not get truly evaluated until I make a call and dig into it. I just wish they would take the time to really evaluate and determine is malingering is an issue or if the Soldier has a real problem.

2014-02-04T21:47:21-05:00 2014-02-04T21:47:21-05:00 SSG Private RallyPoint Member 51445

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Just like any other MOS, I think if they don&#39;t do their time on the line, they aren&#39;t really doing their job.

2014-02-04T21:49:49-05:00 2014-02-04T21:49:49-05:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 51449

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Sir,&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I&#39;ve always seen medics as being in the top 3 highest-regarded MOSs in the Army, along with Infantry. &amp;nbsp;Medics see things I never hope to. &amp;nbsp;They save the lives of our infantry and others who go outside the wire. Back in garrison, we need them when we go on field missions, do ruck marches, or even do simple things like the Air Assault obstacle course because when something goes wrong, the medics will be the ones who save our lives and limbs. &amp;nbsp;I&#39;m not the only one who feels that way. &amp;nbsp;I&#39;ve never seen or heard of anyone treating medics as being less. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

2014-02-04T21:52:59-05:00 2014-02-04T21:52:59-05:00 CW5 Sam R. Baker 51455

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I am not sure if you meant useless or less in the request for opinion. We have the fortunate experience in aviation to have OUR medics work at our clinic with our flight surgeons, so they are used for all daily care and combat care. They come to the unit to give shots and academic classes, so I think medics are great where army aviation is concerned.&amp;nbsp;

2014-02-04T22:00:34-05:00 2014-02-04T22:00:34-05:00 SSG Private RallyPoint Member 51460

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Sir, I am not sure what has brought up the issue, but I personally have always given a lot of respect to my medics. I say my because if your unit takes care of them, they take care of you, and are therefore part of your &quot;family&quot;, and vice versa. I have never had any problems with the medics doing their thing on training days. Why should we harp on them or give them a hard time when we gun bunnies have no clue what they are training on? As long as they do their job when the time comes, and do it well, I could care less what they are doing while we are doing what we do. And as for the talk about &quot;being on the line&quot; or doing &quot;time on the line&quot; etc, I think that is geared more towards certain MOS&#39;s. Medical professions are not really the same in my opinion. You can be in a hospital, you can be in a unit, you can be anywhere in the medical field. Either way, you are doing YOUR JOB. For a gun bunny, if you aren&#39;t ON THE GUN, pulling string and&amp;nbsp; shooting rounds down range, you are considered inferior to the rest of the gun bunnies. You could be in the office kicking butt by taking care of everyone&#39;s personnel issues better than S-1, but if you aren&#39;t in one of the howitzer sections, they consider you as substandard or inferior. And trust me, at that point you will hear about it from your peers, no matter how well you are performing at the job you are in. As for the issue you addressed, I do not see the problem you indicate is out there, and if my Soldiers ever treated the medics like that out of contempt, spite etc and not just playing around with them like we all do, I would be SURE to let them know they are screwing with the wrong people. &lt;br&gt;

2014-02-04T22:16:59-05:00 2014-02-04T22:16:59-05:00 LTC Private RallyPoint Member 51467

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>All of my deployments - I&#39;ve been fortunate to have medics in the unit. &amp;nbsp;First, in the Aviation Squadron I deployed with…medics were invaluable. &amp;nbsp;Professional, competent and force multipliers. &amp;nbsp;Then again when I was on a Border Transition Team - our medic was one of the best Soldiers I&#39;ve ever served with.&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;I think where most folks &#39;look down&#39; on medics are the medics that have only served in a hospital environment. &amp;nbsp;Never in a line unit. &amp;nbsp;I&#39;ve been told some crazy stories about the &#39;shenanigans&#39; that go on in hospitals…by my medics (some of them SSG and SFCs…so senior medics).&lt;/div&gt;

2014-02-04T22:29:09-05:00 2014-02-04T22:29:09-05:00 SFC Robert Trodahl 51481

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Sir, as a Scout Section Leader and then a PSG, my medic (PFC Grinde) was invaluable.  He participated in every training event we had and we familiarized him with every tool we used (as I was in a ABCT, this included the 25mm chain gun on the BFV).  He became a brother in the platoon, and I saw the more he cared about us, the better information and training we received.  He went on to different unit, but 7 years later I still hold up (now ETSd) SSG Grinde as the standard of what an awesome medic can do for your platoon.

2014-02-04T23:01:16-05:00 2014-02-04T23:01:16-05:00 SSG Robert Burns 51488

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Let me give you an answer from both a medic and a nurse who&#39;s been on the line and the bedside. &amp;nbsp;You &quot;tend to feel that medics are less&quot;. &amp;nbsp;I think it is a statement of fact that without a medic you don&#39;t need a nurse, because brother, the patient would not have lived to get to you.&lt;div&gt;So to be honest with you I find your statement offensive and surprising since you say you were a medic. &amp;nbsp;Less than what specifically? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;What is more important; the tourniquet or the vascular surgeon? &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&quot;Until someone get&#39;s hurt....?&quot; &amp;nbsp;What exactly is a nurse until someone get&#39;s hurt? &amp;nbsp;I really don&#39;t understand what your are implying.&lt;/div&gt;

2014-02-04T23:08:34-05:00 2014-02-04T23:08:34-05:00 LTC Jason Mackay 51495

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Nothing but respect for my medics and PAs over the last 20 years. I had a medic (PFC Spivey) go over a counter at the ER after a contracted nurse who refused to treat me for a potentially nasty spider bite, may have been a recluse. Had a PA, when they were Warrants, save my life (CW3 Harold Haslip). We were later in the same Spur Ride Class. My C Co 801 BSB in TF Currahee was a great Company and they supplied great officers and NCOs to the BN when we rotated personnel.&amp;nbsp;

2014-02-04T23:21:01-05:00 2014-02-04T23:21:01-05:00 LTC Paul Labrador 51531

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>&lt;p&gt;As an &quot;insider&quot; I always respected medics.&amp;nbsp; They are the ones who&#39;s primary job is to save lives, not take them.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;However, having served as a healthcare officer in the &quot;pre 9/11&quot; Army, I can say that before our last 12 years of combat, medic training and development was a low priority for many combat arm types.&amp;nbsp; We got to train on specific medic tasks when we could fit it in between gunnery, ranges, etc.&amp;nbsp; It wasn&#39;t until after the first couple months in Iraq and Afghanistan that we found that our medics tended to be generally undertrained for what we were asking them to do.&lt;/p&gt;

2014-02-04T23:59:58-05:00 2014-02-04T23:59:58-05:00 1LT Private RallyPoint Member 71894

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Most of the medics I have known worked their asses off 24/7 on patrol outside the wire, in dustoff/medevac birds, in field / evac hospitals and made the difference between life and death while preserving cognitive and physical functioning.

2014-03-08T06:21:04-05:00 2014-03-08T06:21:04-05:00 1LT Private RallyPoint Member 71897

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>&lt;p&gt;Sir,&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In the Infantry, Doc is our Brother. He is treated as anyone else, and valued. Practically, he is a subject matter expert at immidiate field trauma care and medevac procedures. He trains the other Soldiers in CLS, inventories their IFAKs, runs the Aid station while deployed, conducts 9-line RXLs, makes sure everyone is carrying a CAT, issues profiles when required, conducts foot checks, issues medication and a myriad of other tasks. He is not &quot;that damn medic.&quot; He is Doc, and he is a brother.&lt;/p&gt;

2014-03-08T07:03:21-05:00 2014-03-08T07:03:21-05:00 CPT Lance Cutsforth 71989

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>From my personal experience, medics may not have been the top tacticians when we deployed, but that is not their job. &amp;nbsp;Their job is to save lives. &amp;nbsp;If they have to worry about being combatants, there are bigger problems at hand... &amp;nbsp;That means that the gunslingers didn&#39;t do THEIR job and now medics are having to do BOTH jobs...&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;When we deployed to Bosnia in the initial stages of OJE, as mortar platoon leader I set up a fire base and was given a medic slice and a mechanic slice. &amp;nbsp;&quot;My&quot; medics and mechanics did NOT do any of the infantry tasks, even the mundane ones. &amp;nbsp;Not their job. &amp;nbsp;Our job to protect them, their job to keep us alive when the s**t hit the fan and keep our dinosaur M106s and M577s running at all times... &amp;nbsp;Both sets of soldiers were outstanding in what they did and felt well appreciated because of the mutual respect for our varied roles. &amp;nbsp;1 week rotation with us for those slices ended up being much longer because those section leaders appreciated being appreciated...&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;There may have been a bit of friendly ribbing back and forth, but NEVER was there a lack of respect for our medics or our wrenches... &amp;nbsp;&lt;/div&gt;

2014-03-08T11:46:30-05:00 2014-03-08T11:46:30-05:00 TSgt Private RallyPoint Member 72233

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>My career started as an Army 91B Combat Medic. There were some who acted like Medics were just EMTs in uniform, but not soldiers. I always worked hard to prove that our Medic Motto of "Soldier Medic" was true; Soldier first, Medic second. I made sure to always take part in everything my company was doing. I volunteered for patrols, carried my M-16 and my aid bag, and let my soldiers know I was there to take care of them, but until they needed it I was going to be on the line with them.  I had a great relationship with those guys. I think too many people have seen MASH and movies where Medics couldn't, didn't or wouldn't carry a personal weapon (which is NOT outlawed by the Geneva Convention as most people think). A true Combat Medic is there to soldier up, ruck up, and move out with the unit, until their medical skills are call on. Once the wounded is evac'd, you keep moving with your troops. That's just my thoughts on the matter, and how I played the game.

2014-03-09T00:27:04-05:00 2014-03-09T00:27:04-05:00 SFC Michael Hasbun 72246

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I've never met anyone who's thought of medics as "less than military". The only time I've ever heard that term used is in reference to the Air Force...

2014-03-09T00:45:26-05:00 2014-03-09T00:45:26-05:00 SSG Private RallyPoint Member 72256

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Sir,<div>There is no reason to justify anything. Some medics are "turds". But the same could be said about any MOS in the military. With that being said, I believe you have been inside a hospital setting as a nurse far too long to understand the current perception of the military medical field. IMO your views seem out of touch and slightly elitist. </div><div>Medics have the widest range in terms of responsibility and knowledge. They work in more roles than most and have the added responsibility of lives on their shoulder. The fact that you feel as if they are "less" is alarming and if not offensive. I'm not thin skinned but that seems degrading, to say the least. Some of the most exemplary examples of a soldier that I have worked with, have been"those damn medics". Although my opinion could be bias, since I am a medic as well.</div>

2014-03-09T01:56:38-05:00 2014-03-09T01:56:38-05:00 SGT Private RallyPoint Member 72381

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>I have more respect for a medic who does there job correctly than I do for Army PAs and Drs who constantly misdiagnose soldiers. Im not talking about one isolated incident either. It is a common trend. I hear about it monthly and have witnessed it happen to my soldiers and peers on 5 separate occasions 5 different "DRs" and 3 different post. I understand no one is perfect, but months before you are properly diagnosed simply doesn't happen in the civilian world (baring rare diseases). Going 2 months on a foot that has a "strained muscle" when it is really broken, unexcusable! 

2014-03-09T12:25:14-04:00 2014-03-09T12:25:14-04:00 CPT Private RallyPoint Member 105749

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div>Sir, I don't think it is as much of a Soldier/Airman issue as much as a leadership issue. I spent years working in the ED on an AFB. Now, I am working in the Army, attend the training meetings and hear and see most of the things that go on in our BN. Across the board, whether it is medical or infantry, when there is a lack of leadership, the junior ranks tend to do whatever they can get away with. More often than not, it is not even a matter of trying to get away with something, but there is no direction or guidance for them to do anything more than sit around.

2014-04-19T01:13:44-04:00 2014-04-19T01:13:44-04:00 LTC Private RallyPoint Member 109550

<div class="images-v2-count-0"></div><p>I love my medics. I feel like they are like chaplains. You can never have enough and you God that you will never need them. I try to incorporate them in as much as I can and utilize them to train others. I got a fresh new batch of them and I will pretty soon have enough trained ones for one per platoon and intend to assign them a platoon to cross-train so that they know what their other Soldiers are doing and how they can possibly get hurt. It also makes them a part of the unit.</p><p><br></p><p>Now that was my company. When at battalion or brigade levels I have seen them treated as ok they need to do their medic thing over there to do the aide station or conduct CLS. It is ashame that they are not utilized until we were mobilized to assist or help develop MEDOPS contingencies or utilized during MDMP as they do play a part. When we were mobilized they were great and utilized as a pool for downtrace to take on missions and do sick call. They briefed and helped everyone on base. Same with my last annual training. Its the weekends that they tend to be left out.</p>

2014-04-23T21:56:31-04:00 2014-04-23T21:56:31-04:00 2014-02-04T21:41:53-05:00