(NSFW) IAma Medic in the United States Army, I have deployed to very hostile and austere environments. Ask Me Anything.

If you are comfortable telling us; how many people can you say are alive because of you?

10 americans, over 100 afghans.

What is the scariest/most traumatic situation you have ever been in?

I think for me, Nov 22, 2010, my platoon was on a patrol in a place called Nalgham, one of our ANA (afghan national army) soldiers stepped on a mine, and suffered a double amputation above the knee, while evaccing him out by litter, the litter team was struck by an IED (estimated at several hundred pounds). We had 8 injured, 2 died. I was the only medic who was not injured severely, my supervisor was struck by shrapnel, and wounded, but he managed to get up and help me with the wounded. That for me ranks very high, even though I have seen worse, these were my best friends, my brothers.

Damn, I'm trying to sympathize but as a civilian who has never seen war or anything of this nature I can't even fathom the emotions that come with this experience.

In my experience, trauma is trauma. Everyone has bad things that happen to them, the worst for you, and the worst for me, are different events but the same emotions. Keep in mind not everything is bad, I have some very fond memories of the time.

I've always said experience is relative to the person.

exactly.

That is the most elegantly put response to that statement/question that i've ever heard/read. Trauma is trauma, regardless of where and how you experience it.

thank you

Feels. We only had one combat casualty one deployment.

My friend took a sniper round to the throat.

yeah that sucks. we had a guy go down like that, one gunshot, right through his optic.

How do you like your eggs in the morning?

Over well. I put some salt and pepper on them and usually make a sandwich with toast.

good man, knows how to truly eat breakfast.

It is how champions start the day

Did you fight alongside any brits?

Are they any different to the US forces?

yes! The britts are a lot of fun, and totally wreckless and crazy. They had these tanks, im not sure what they are called, but they would drive through IED's, open the hatch, curse, spit, get back in, and run over some walls or more IED's, fun guys.

It takes balls of fucking steel to drive over an IED, laugh about it, then drive over more.

Yeah, they were a fun group of guys.

WERE

._.

haah I meant to work with, none of them died.

Where was the area with the worst conditions?

Southern Khandahar, Afghanistan 2010-2011

What about the best environment?

A peace time place of course, I was recently stationed in europe, it was fun.

By fun, I assume you mean drunken

haha

101?

Rgr that, Aco 2/502

A 1/502 small world bro

haha for real, I'm not there anymore, but I miss it sometimes, just sometimes, STRRRIIIIKE

Could you give a little more description as to why it was the worst?

I think because it was a major surge effort, the area had not really been explored or pushed into. The fighting was severe, we were in some sort of engagement pretty much every day until the winter when the fighting dies down there. The area was also covered in IED's and mines, because the taliban didn't want to lose these strongholds and sources of income.

Do you think Afghanistan is "unsaveable?" I have serious doubts about being able to bring stability to a country that has fighting seasons.

I don't think so, from my perspective, the people there just want to live their lives, like anyone else. From what I saw, they are being manhandled and controlled by the taliban, who use them for money and drugs.

When you get back, please stay plugged in with the VA, with your Army brothers, and transition back to civilian life as slowly as possible.

The culture shock is intense, and too many vets end up hiding in rooms, drinking themselves into numbness, just to stay sane.

I am back already, and I am. I am being medically retired for nerve damage to my arms.

What would you say is the thing of your job movies don't get right at all?

the downtime, war is sitting around for hours waiting for something to happen, then 12 seconds of madness.

Sorry if you've answered this before, but were there shots fired at you? Do the taliban care about who's medic and who isn't?

yes and no they dont, well they care, we are worth more, so i've been told, which is why we dont wear red crosses anymore.

Thanks for the reply. Massive respect for what you are doing.

thank you

Canadian Med Tech here, keep on keeping on brother.

Thanks, canada rocks, thanks for securing afghanistan for us.

Leaving for basic in a week. Then It's off to 68 whiskey training!

good luck, keep your head down, and only speak when spoken to, you will do fine.

As a medic, did you do a lot of fighting yourself, or are you behind the lines a bit tending to people's injuries?

I was an infantry platoon medic, so yes and no. I was on the front lines with my guys, but for the most part they were always yelling at me to get down, or jumping on me, the guys wanted to keep me safe incase anything happened to them.

Do you regret joining the army?

Not at all. It was the single best choice I have ever made. I met my wife on active duty, I met some of the best men and women our nation has, I got to help so many people, save hundreds of lives, and be a part of something bigger than myself. I wouldn't take it back for anything.

[deleted]

thank you

Is the nerve damage debilitating?

You said you were retired. Is the payment good enough for a decent life? Does your wife still work in the Army? Do you have any plans to work again as a medic?

Thank you very much for your service!

Yes, I have ulnar nerve damage which is severe in my left arm and moderate in my right, my hands dont work very well anymore,

I am on my way to retirement now, few more months of rehab.

My wife doesnt work, the money is good and we have saved very well, and both plan to work in the future.

What is the most heroic thing you've seen or done so far?

Three of my friends rushed through heavy gunfire, RPG's, through a minefield, to get one of our wounded. very brave

I was in Kandahar in 2012, and our medics were kick-ass when some of our guys got hit. just wanted to say thanks, and keep saving lives!

thank you

I'll be the one to ask about your craziest story.

I once chased a huge porcupine down a hole because he was eating our MRE's at night screaming AMERICA!!!, I took a quill to the face, but got him.

From your album, many of the patients you have treated are young local children. What are the most common things that these children present with? And what do you think can be done to stop these injuries from occurring?

The kids in the area have a lot of skin problems due to malaria, I would think that is the number one problem there for them. The second would be accidents, which are somewhat unavoidable, like shop accidents or burning oil falling on them.

I don't know about now, but back in the day most of the kids we treated were due to their parents injuring them intentionally so they could come in as well and get things like free meals and other stuff. Hopefully it's changed.

I didn't see much of that to be honest.

I am a protest Medic on the frontline in Istanbul, its not a war but plastic bullets and amount of tear gas is beyond imagination. Any advice tips from your experience that can be of use?

Make sure to check airways, tear gas can be fatal if people stay in it too long, and check those impact sites for severe hematoma under the skin

Would you say your experience is more traumatic than an infantryman's because of the nature of being a medic?

I think its different, from the guys I have talked to, medics have a lot more guilt, I know I do. I think my infantry buddies have a different kind of burden, but I would never say someones trauma is more or less

first four lines of the 9-line, go!

L -location F - frequency call sign P- Patients E - Equipment

low flying pilots eat tacos man

how did you become a medic, what training did you have prior to joining the forces?

I enlisted for the MOS (job), I had no medical background prior to that.

What would you be more likely to treat? 100 duck sized horses or a single horse sized duck?

Horse sized duck, more fluid volume to work with.

On that note, thank you for being the badass who helps our soldiers retain their precious bodily fluids.

Except the semen, I took all of that

What's one if the main experiences that's makes you want to keep doing what you are doing ?

Pulling someone back from deaths doorstep, its such a great feeling knowing youve saved someones life.

My big brother is a combat medic as well, he's been deployed once.

What was your favorite moment being over there? You're most memorable moment?

I used to love it at night, I would be on guard or something, and it's so quiet and peacefull, the stars and moon are so bright you could read a book by them. In the winter when it was very cold, we used to make a big fire and hang out, shoot the shit and tell stories, I miss those times .

I agree, nothing like a clear afghan night with the shadows of the mountains in the background. You really don't even realize how many stars there are until you are in a country that is pitch black at night.

Exactly.

Where you ever in a situation where you had multiple wounded soldiers to tend to. How did you handle it?

yes, as best I could, I triaged and treated, and had my guys help me with first aid.

Thank you for finally posting an album of millitary life that isn't full of 50 pictures of smiling american guys and nothing else.

My question though; As someone who is near violently opposed to war of any sort (I'm aware of the irony of being violently opposed to violence.) I've still been torn many times between my own convictions, and trying to become an army medic.

Did you ever know anyone who despised war, and even the very thing soldiers stand for, yet joined to save as many innocent people as they could?

I'm asking because seeing some of the pictures and video coming out of Turkey right now, part of me wants to sell everything I have and fly over there with nothing but a cert 2 in first aid on the off chance I can help someone, and it's made me start thinking again that maybe I should just stomach my own views and beliefs and try for it anyway.

In my experience a lot of people in the medical field feel that way, I know I do. I hate war, its horrible.

I too was recently in RC South. Horrible place. Where was the absolute WORST conditions you had to do trauma care in? Our medic managed to get an IV in a guy's arm while I was noping the fuck out of a bad place at about fifty mph through a bouncy ass desert in a MATV. Still don't know how he managed to do it.

I have done that before, in a crappy MRAP bouncing all around highway one, but for me being on the ground with bullets and explosions all around, pretty shitty.

is there still some sort of agreement towards not shooting at medics in these war zones?

there is supposed to be, the geneva convention, but the taliban/ al quaeda doesnt follow that.

What was the most common ailment or wound type that you came across (be it an Afghan or American patient)?

Also, what has the US done to improve the healthcare of the local Afghans long term?

I think malaria complications would be high on the list for our Afghan people, but for everyone, IED blasts, and the things that come with that, shrapnel, burns, concussive wounds. We trained our ANA counterparts, so all of their medics, we also set up local villages with aid stations and medical supplies.

Why did you join the military?

What is the most classified thing you can tell us?

I was working a normal kind of job at the time, this was 2005, I heard an article on NPR about infantry platoons going on patrols without medics, I enlisted the next day.

I can't, its classified.

Thank you for serving this county :)

youre welcome.

For anyone who hasn't seen this... Restrepo

See you in an hour and 29 minutes.

Yeah, that is a great documentary to see.

i wish to be a medic as well how would i go about becoming one and becoming the best i can be? are there books or something, cause i have yet to find a book that goes into a large amount of detail about army medics.

It's difficult to find source material. If you really want to be the best, I would start looking at the Ranger Field Medic Guide or the Special Forces Medical Journals. The BCT3 Guidelines are also a good place to start learning.

Is this something available to civilians? I poked around the internet a bit and this seems like it might be it, but not sure.

thats the same one we use.

What is the most important thing you learned in med school?

I never went to medical school, but in medical training, I would say the correct use of Tourniquet and hemostatic dressings .

What kind of schooling did you have to go through to become a medic?

basic training, medic AIT (advanced training) which in total is about 32 weeks, unit level training, which was all the time, prior to deployment, JRTC scenario training, BCT3 training

As a 20 year retired navy vet, I am curious as to how it is working with women in a very difficult situation such as southern Kandahar?

To be honest we rarely did, at the time women werent allowed in the infantry, I only worked with a few back at the FOB aid station, and we had some females on FET teams (searching afghan females), but we had no problems to be honest .

Is there piece of first aid/trauma care knowledge you think everyone should know? If so what?

If you can, always keep a Tourniquet on you, they are easy to use and seriously save lives.

What was your kit set up for?

traumas, blood loss, emergency airways. No surgical stuff its too heavy, I was pretty much set for common wounds, amputations, gunshots, and sucking chest wounds.

What steps did you take after high school to become a medic?

I went to college, did keg stands, smoked some pot, got a job. I was just a normal guy who walked into a recruiters office one day to be honest.

First of all thank you for your service. My question to you is, have you ever worked with anyone other US branch, other than Army? If so, how did they compare?

Yes, I have worked with all branches of the US Army in deployments, as well as our international partners. It is really hard to compare to be honest, to me it seems like people are just doing their jobs. On the ground you kind of scoff at the air force guy, until he calls in close air support or a GBU, and you laugh at the navy, until they build your COP for you. I think each branch has its speciality, and for the most part do it very well.

I don't have a question, I just wanted to say thank you.

thank you

As a combat medic do you feel more or less of a target?

Also, do you carry a weapon?

I would say the same as anyone else, we try to blend in, and yes, a rifle.

I hope all is well and thank you for your service. Have you ever seen something that the us army did that made u regret ever joining the army?

In the news of course, you see stories about soldiers abusing people or comitting war crimes, but that wouldnt make me regret joining the army, there are over 500 thousand of us, and i assure you, we are all sickened by the actions of the few.

I'm in southern khandahar now. It's getting rough again. Guys hittin pressure plates all the time and constant odd when we go back to shank. I've earned my cmb. Ill keep it at that

keep your head down, that place is a nightmare.

Hi and first off I want to thank you for your service. Second, I am thinking if doing this and then becoming a doctor. In your opinion, would it be better to go in the Army first or go to college and medical school? Also, Im a little chubby and had asthma as a kid, would that affect any of the physical requirements and training needed for this?

I would do college first, there are programs for med school students to be direct comissioned. I am not sure how chubby you are or if you have asthma now, but the army does have weight standards for everyone, childhood asthma isnt problem to my knowledge.

What jobs are you qualified for in the medical field with just the training you received in the army?

none, nada, nothing

Do you worry that you may get PTSD? Thanks for your service and I wish you and your family the best especially when you return home.

i was diagnosed with it in 2011, if that answers your question.

If someone's injuries are to severe and nothing can be done to help them, therefore they end up passing, do you feel angry/responsible that you couldn't save that person?

Yes