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Old 02-17-2007, 10:11   #32
SouthernDZ
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 656
"medic" status

Good and relevant stuff

Two years ago I was doing curriculum development with the 91W (now the 68W), so believe me, they're asking the same questions on the CF side.

Tactical Combat Casualty Care which is now mainstream thinking, teaches that the best treatment a combat medic can provide a wounded soldier who is still recieving "effective" enemy fire is to get on line and lay down suppressive fire in your lane. This is called the "care under fire phase" of TC3. As stated, SABA (self-aid/buddy-aid) will have to do until the medic can retrieve you and move behind cover (the "tactical field care" phase). TCCC also advocates that wounded (if lucid and otherwise able) should add their firepower to the fight; if not, play dead.

The 18D, being 18-series, is a combat arms MOS. They are not under the AMEDD (MEDCOM) proponent for this reason, they are USAJFKSWCS poroponent. They are as much a member of a fire team until a team member, striker or indig is wounded - even then, hold what you've got until you are no longer under effective fire.

Unfortunately, the law of land warfare has not caught up with this philosophy (the definition of war and combatant also needs an update).
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