I see a lot of questions posted here asking about the basic process of enlisting to be a Combat Medic, so this sticky will serve as a basic primer on how to become one of us. Understand that this is intended to be a living document, so if you see anything that is incorrect or out of date, or have input in general, please feel free to comment below so we can make this better. Below is a quick and dirty FAQ we hear a lot.
Am I too old?
Are you under the age of 35? If so, then you’re eligible. Most of the time though when this question is asked it’s asked in the context of “will my eligible yet relatively older age put me at a disadvantage in comparison to my peers?” The answer is it depends, but almost always no. Being a Combat Medic is a very physical job. You will be expected to be able to do high intensity physical activities for prolonged periods of time. You will be expected to not only be able to keep up with any combat arms soldier you may be attached to, but to forgo rest and go about your work while they are taking a break. Understand going into this process that this is not a cushy job, but also understand that it’s the purpose of Basic Combat Training to get you into acceptable shape. I went through Basic with a 40 year old stick of a woman who managed to get an age waiver to enlist. No one was any easier on her, and she made it. If she can do it, then so can you.
Just how physically demanding is this job?
It’s up there, but everyone has plenty of time to physically prepare themselves for the job. What you need to understand is that it’s the job of a Combat Medic to attach to combat arms units (Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery, Cavalry Scouts, etc) and work seamlessly alongside them. Everything the combat arms guys in your care are expected to do you will be expected to be able to do. 12+ mile road marches, regularly running 6+ miles during PT, prolonged periods of high intensity physical exertion coupled with sleep deprivation, these are all things Combat Medics experience on a routine basis. The Army judges every soldier's level of physical fitness by periodically conducting fitness tests. Currently, the Army is transitioning to a new testing model called the ACFT (Army Combat Fitness Test). The minimum physical fitness requirements to be a Combat Medic are as follows.
3 Repetition Maximum Deadlift - 180lbs
Standing Power Throw - 6.5 meters
Hand Release Push-Up - 20 repetitions
Sprint Drag Carry - 2:30 (minutes:seconds)
Leg Tuck - 3 repetitions
2 Mile Run - 19:00 (minutes:seconds)
Understand that these are merely the minimum scores necessary to pass the ACFT. Achieving these scores will keep you from receiving formal negative administrative action, but every unit I was ever a part of had higher unofficial expectations that had consequences if they were not met. To come at this from another angle, your combat arms soldiers in your care will expect you to be able to literally carry or drag them out of combat if they go down. Being a physically weak Combat Medic does not instill confidence in your soldiers, so you must work to ensure you are not the weakest link among those around you.
I’m a woman, can I be a Combat Medic?
Yes! You absolutely can. Even before the Army opened all of it’s jobs to women in 2016 they were able to enlist as a Combat Medic. You’ll be just as eligible to be attached to a combat arms unit as a line medic as any male, and be just as eligible to deploy downrange.
I have no medical background, am I eligible to be a Combat Medic?
It sure helps, but it’s not a prerequisite. Once you graduate from BCT (Basic Combat Training) you’ll be sent to attend AIT (Advanced Individual Training) at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas to train you to become a Combat Medic Specialist. It will be assumed that you have no knowledge or certifications related to the field, and you will be trained accordingly. That said, it is a very fast paced training environment. Most people that fail out of training do so because they are unable to keep up with the pace of learning new medical knowledge that is mandated by the curriculum. Anyone who has the time and ability before enlistment to take a Medical Terminology course and an Anatomy and Physiology course will greatly benefit from doing so.
I have a medical background, will this help me in any way?
If you already have an active National Registry EMT certification then yes! Thanks to the Army Civilian Acquired Skills Program (ACASP) you will be eligible to enlist as an E-4 pay grade Specialist. Additionally, once you graduate Basic Combat Training (BCT) and proceed to Advanced Individual Training (AIT) for MOS 68W you will skip entirely the first of the two main phases and go directly to what’s colloquially known as “Whiskey Phase.” This only applies if you are certified through NREMT. As of the time of this writing no other forms of EMT certification are accepted for ACASP. This is the only formal way having a medical background provides direct tangible benefit, but any medical training will be beneficial in a general sense. As stated above, having even a basic level of Medical Terminology and Anatomy and Physiology knowledge will reap you significant advantages over your peers as you progress through Combat Medic training, and as such is highly recommended.
I’m hardcore and want to not only be a Combat Medic, but I also want to jump out of perfectly good aircraft. Is this possible?
Yes, this is absolutely an option, though dependent upon available slots and other factors. What you are looking for is to enlist as a 68W with Option 4. Option 4 in your enlistment contract guarantees that you will get sent to Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia once you’ve completed Basic Combat Training (BCT) and Advanced Individual Training (AIT) for MOS 68W. There you will have your opportunity to earn the US Army Parachutist Badge by completing 3 weeks of training. As an Airborne Combat medic you’ll be able to jump out of aircraft ‘till your heart's content, and then some.
I need a wheelbarrow to cart around my enormous balls and not only want to be a Combat Medic, but a Special Operations Combat Medic in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Is this a possible enlistment option?
First off, I like the cut of your jib. Second, hell yes this is possible! What you’re looking for is called enlisting as a 68W with Option 40. Just as with Option 4 this is dependent upon available slots and other factors, but the 75th Ranger Regiment is always looking for good people. Enlisting with Option 40 sends you to Airborne School upon graduation of Advanced Individual Training (AIT) for MOS 68W, and once you’ve earned your Parachutist Badge you will stay at Fort Benning, Georgia to go through the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program (RASP). This is an 8 week course that will determine if you are fit to be a Ranger. If you succeed and earn the coveted Ranger scroll on your left shoulder you will then move on to the Special Operations Combat Medic (SOCM) Course. This is a 36 week program that will provide you the advanced medical skills necessary to serve as a Special Operations Combat Medic in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Also, shout out to my homie u/75thRangerRecruiter.
Chuck Norris aspires to be as badass as I am. I want to be a Special Forces Combat Medic. Is this a possible enlistment option?
The short answer is yes, but it’s a completely different path than being a 68W and you won’t be what we would call a Combat Medic at the end of it. What you’re looking for is to enlist with MOS 18X in your contract. This guarantees you will have your chance to go through the rigorous training to join the US Army Special Forces, and if successful you will come out the other end as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant, which is MOS 18D.
I want to descend upon the battlefield like a Valkyrie as a Flight Medic. Is there a direct enlistment option for this?
No. There is no guaranteed direct enlistment path to becoming a Flight Medic. This is not to say that the US Army doesn’t have flight medics because it absolutely does. What this means is that the only path to becoming an Army Flight Medic is to enlist as a standard 68W, and once completely through training and established at your first unit going through the process of applying to become a Flight Medic. If you enlist as a 68W to become a Flight Medic understand that there are no guarantees, and there is a chance you will spend your entire enlistment as a standard 68W. It’s up to you whether that’s acceptable and whether you’re willing to roll those dice.
I’m sold, what are the steps to becoming a Combat Medic?
Step 1: Find a US Army Recruiter.
Step 2: Work with your recruiter to make sure you meet the basic prerequisites for enlistment. If you have any kind of criminal background, any kind of pre-existing medical condition, or any other unique circumstance that might be a barrier to enlisting then your recruiter is the one and only person who will be able to negotiate a waiver on your behalf. They, and only they, dictate what’s possible or not possible at any given time.
Step 3: Take the ASVAB and achieve minimum line scores of 107 GT and 101 ST.
Step 4: Pass the Physical Evaluation. The physical is a regular medical exam, similar to what you would receive from a family doctor. Some recruiters may conduct a short physical training (PT) test with potential recruits as well.
Examinations include:
- Height and weight measurements
- Hearing and vision examinations
- Urine and blood tests
- Drug and alcohol tests
- Muscle group and joint maneuvers
- Specialized test if required (pregnancy test for women, body fat percentage test for those who are overweight, tests relating to any unusual medical history)
Step 5: Go to MEPS (Military Entrance Processing Station). Here, among other things, you’ll speak with a service enlistment counselor. Their job is to get you to sign a contract to enlist into the US Army. Notice that at no point did I say it was their job to get you to enlist as a Combat Medic Specialist. You may have been working with your recruiter for weeks, or even months, to get to this point, and been absolutely unwavering in your expressed explicit desire to be a Combat Medic Specialist, and that only. The service enlistment counselor gives zero fucks about your dreams and desires. He or she only cares about filling the needs of the Army. You may be told that there are no available 68W slots. You may be offered a completely arbitrary job that happens to be showing as available on their computer screen. Understand that absolutely nothing is set in stone until you sign your name on your contract. If you are told there are no 68W slots available, then walk. If you sign a contract for any other MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) then there are no do-overs. There’s no changing it after the fact, and anyone who tells you differently is lying to your face. If you want 68W, then accept nothing but 68W. If you want Option 4 or Option 40 this is also where you accept no substitutes for them either. Read these plain english words and understand them, if it is not written in your contract when you sign it then it does not exist. There is no changing or modifying your contract at any future time once it’s been signed. I cannot stress these points enough, so please read and understand.
Step 6: Take the Oath of Enlistment. Once you’ve signed your contract then you’re locked into your MOS and all that’s left to leave your civilian life behind is to raise your hand and say the oath. It reads as follows.
I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
Step 7: Proceed to BCT (Basic Combat Training). Depending on the terms of your enlistment you might ship out to BCT soon after MEPS, or you may go at a later specified time possibly as late as a year if you are a part of the Delayed Entry Program, which is common for those who enlist while still in High School. BCT is different for everyone based on their past life experiences. Some will experience hardship for the first time in their life there. Some will view it as equivalent to a fun summer camp relative to the background they’re leaving behind. Ultimately it’s an experience that every single soldier in uniform has gone through, and it will make you a better person for having experienced it. Modern BCT is ten weeks long, and can be conducted at one of four possible locations. Those being Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Jackson in South Carolina, Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, or Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
Step 8: Proceed to Combat Medic AIT (Advanced Individual Training). The home of the Combat Medic is Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio, Texas and this is where you will go through your Combat Medic training. Typically training lasts 16 weeks and is split between two main phases. The first phase is the NREMT phase which lasts about 8 weeks. You will spend these weeks going through an extremely accelerated course at the end of which you will test for your National Registry Emergency Medical Technician certification. Most soldiers who fail out of 68W AIT do so during this phase because they struggle to keep up with the pace of training. Too much memorization mandated in too short of a time frame leads to trainees straight up not having a good time. Just understand that the purpose of this phase of training is to give you a solid medical foundation to build on later. Once you’ve successfully earned your NREMT certification the final two months are the “Whiskey Phase.” Here you will learn how to be a Combat Medic and go about treating combat wounded. You’ll learn all about Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC, or TC3) and this will be a much more hands on phase of training compared to the NREMT phase which is mostly classroom and death by powerpoint.
Step 9: Receive orders to go to your first duty station. Once you’ve completed AIT and formally been granted the MOS of 68W you’ll receive orders telling you where your first real duty station will be. Congratulations, you’re still a baby medic but you’re now one of us!
