Photo By Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga | U.S. Army Spc. Bridger Harris, a combat medic assigned to Charlie Medical Company,...... read more read more
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Sgt. Tara Fajardo Arteaga, 113th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
SKWIERZYNA, Poland – Shouting can be heard outside the tent as an M113 Armored Personnel Carrier pulls up and drops the back door, revealing simulated casualties. A team of Soldiers is waiting to carry the simulated patients into the tent so the combat medics can begin training on each one. The Soldiers from Charlie Medical Company, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, are in the middle of a mass casualty exercise.
U.S. Army Spc. Bridger Harris, a combat medic assigned to the 64th BSB, starts evaluating one of the patients that has just been brought in. Harris joined the Army two years ago and has never looked back at his choice to become a combat medic.
“I’m very proud to be a medic. When it comes down to it, I can’t see myself doing anything else,” said Harris. “There are days that I hate my job, but there are so many different experiences and things that I have been able to do that I wouldn’t have been able to if I hadn’t become a medic.”
In the combat medic world with the U.S. Army, there are many different paths a Soldier can take. For example, Harris would like to submit a packet to be a medic with the Civil Affairs.
“I want to become a medic in Civil Affairs,” said Harris. “I want to continue learning as a medic, maybe go to physician's assistant school one day. But right now, that 50-meter target is getting back to Carson, dropping that packet and throwing my hat in the ring for Civil Affairs.”
Medics can choose to advance their careers in many different ways. Some may choose to become an Army physician assistant or become a medic in civil affairs or special operations.
At the battalion level, role one is the aid station, where the patient is treated by a physician, physician’s assistant, or medic. If necessary, after triage, treatment, and stabilization, the Soldier either returns to duty or is evacuated to a role two or appropriate medical treatment facility.
Treatment in role one does not have to be combat-related. Patients with non-battle injuries, disease and behavioral and operational stress conditions can also be treated. Role one facilities do not have the capability for patient holding.
“They are only line medics, they have a small battalion aid station, but that’s usually just manned by a physician assistant,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Thompson, a platoon sergeant assigned to the 64th BSB. “Typically, when Soldiers go on training rotations or when they deploy, they’ll get another medical provider that’s attached to the unit and that person will assist the physician assistant.”
The role of the combat medic is essential in the Army, and the diverse backgrounds and combat-related experiences of medics enable the highest level of care to beneficiaries.
“It all comes down to selfless service and I feel like the 68 whiskey is all about that,” said Harris. “You might not get thanked, but medics do it every day – they just serve and it’s a huge job. It becomes a tight-knit family when people are willing to help others, and I feel like Charlie Company, and the medics, especially, are really good about that. I feel like medics are very important in the Army.”
“I think that medics are extremely important, and not just because I’m biased to them because this was my opinion of them before I re-classed as one,” said Thompson. “They take care of everybody so that you can keep everybody in the fight.”
| Date Taken: | 08.10.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.14.2022 10:57 |
| Story ID: | 429281 |
| Location: | SKWIERZYNA, PL |
| Web Views: | 1,041 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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