Life Of a Combat Medic
Chapter 1
Mission Day
"Good morning" Doc I couldn't sleep to well last night I had a headache all day yesterday. "Ok did you eat dinner last night?" , Yes, I did and I drank plenty of water but still have this headache that kept me up all night long. "Well here's some acemetacin it will help with the headache if it don't get any better with in a n hour let me know and I will give you something else to help you.
Its not even 0700 in the morning and they have problems already my job never ends.
So I gather my toothbrush and my razor to go out side and do personal hygiene out by the showers. When I walk outside in my pt uniform and flip flops the sun is shinning so bright already. Its gunna be a long day today I feel it we have a mission today we are gunna go to some Iraq compound and talk with the general there and then drive around and scan the area around the new compound. After shaving and brushing my teeth I go back to my room and put on my uniform and gather up all of my gear for the mission. I have an aid bag, a drop pouch that I wear on my leg and my IOTV and a M4 rifle. After getting dressed and gathering all of my gear me and the other guys in my room head out to the trucks that we will be taking today on the mission to get them ready. I take out my gear and place it in the truck where I will be seated and then help my driver get the rest of the truck ready. We have to turn on all of the radios and make sure there is enough water and MRE'S for the trip and inspect the truck for any malfunctions. As we are looking over the truck I notice another soldier walking with a limp and I ask him what's wrong and he says that "my feet are hurting they are starting to crack and itch a little bit" I said ok and tell him to come and see me when we come back from the mission. "Hey are you wearing new socks today or are they used?" Oh theses are new socks I have plenty of socks and change them every day. Well that's good don't wear you socks over if you don't have to. "ok Doc will do." Well I watched his walking for the rest of the day and made a note to make sure that is checked his feet when I got back to the rooms.
After the trucks are prepared we drive up to the staging area and here we wait for the higher ups to come out to leave with us. When we get to this point we are just waiting for the mission brief where we learn what's going on in the area and how the day is suppose to go and what to do in case we are attacked by anything or anyone. Each brief is almost the same time after time. I take the notes that I need for the brief. What streets we are taking where we are going how long the trip will be and do we have any medical support over ahead. Then I have to make the decisions on where the cut off point is where to transport the patients if there is any and where is the best place to put people in the trucks we have. I also get a count on all the people we have ridding with us that day and if they are not any of my normal guys then I make sure that they have all of there gear and up to the standard that we are in, medically. I have all of my guys keeps an extra tourniquet in there left leg pocket and its there to help them and me in an time of emergency. I always look at every guy and look for signs that they are sick or not feeling well and then I try if I can talk to them to help them in any way that I can to make sure that there day goes smooth. It would really suck if they rolled out and were throwing up every thirty minutes.
After the mission brief we put all of our gear on and then we load up in the truck and head out to the gate and the long journey has begin Hopefully everyone comes home with me and safely. This goes through my mind the whole trip. I get very worried about what happens if we get hit by an IED or get attacked with small arms fire or what if I have a mass cal that would be a bad day in my book. Along with all of this I am thinking of that soldiers foot and do I have anything to clean his feet if they are really bad off, are they at the point of bleeding yet, should I have looked at them before we left. Am I a bad guy for making him wait. When we stop I will look at his feet I made the choice I can give him something for the pain until we get back to the fob and can clean his feet the right and make it more comfortable for him. I then sit in the truck and pay attention to what's going on around the area. We watch out for people and stuff around the streets to make sure that the streets are clear. I listen to the radios for any news on the area and hear all the jokes that the platoon has.
We take the long route down empty roads to make it safe to where we are going. When we get there we refuel our trucks and get ready for the trip back. Then we get the guys that are gunna protect the commander ready to leave and go to the meeting. Theses guys are in charge of protecting the commander from shooters and other people. They go to the meeting with all of there gear on and stand around waiting for the meeting to be over and the other guys are waiting outside at the trucks monitoring the radios waiting for the meeting to be over.
Then we get the call there coming out and we but our gear on and get ready to roll out we have the radios ready the guns ready and everyone is mounted up waiting for the commander to walk over and then we start the trip all over again. By this time we are all tired from the ride there and having our gear on all day sitting in the Army made ovens. It gets really hot in the trucks we are in but people who don't roll out in the hottest part of the day say "well you have AC use it" and there the ones that would get hurt. The guys will get really pissed if you tell them that.
As we get ready to leave the fob and head back home we all get prepared to travel the long trip back home. As we are leaving we double check to make sure that we still have all of the gear and personal that we came with. So on the way back every one is sleepy and its late in the afternoon and it getting late the soldier are getting aggravated. So it is more likely to get in an roll over or miss an IED on the side of the road. We have to talk to each other and keep each other up long enough to make it back to the FOB.