91A vs 68W - is a combat medic a combat medic?

Medics do such broad jobs now. When I started, I was a grunt medic for an infantry co. Then was deployed with a medical co. As a trauma team member, eventually moving over to ER platoon. I later would do a stint as a Ambulance team leader before being moved back to ER as a team leader. Now I operate in an MP BN as both the HHC medical NCOIC while also the BN Medic (chief of training and logistics for medical staff in BN). Each job is considered within the basic medic scope of training but all required different approaches and tactics.

The best part was giving all your infantry guys trauma shears. They loved free stuff. One asked me why and I told him because every medic I've seen has them hanging off their vest. That's how grunts identify us during training, I'm sure the enemy has picked that up too

There's a difference between a combat medic and a healthcare specialist. When I was a medic, all the medics in our unit carried a load almost identical to MSG (Join to see)

I carried an M-16, a 9mm pistol, and a 12 gauge shotgun. Not all at the same time mind you. It all depends on the company you are in and what the company regs. say you can use. The medic bags are larger and come in a wide variety of setups and the equipment is much more improved than that of the stuff used in the Vietnam era. Treatment on the battlefield is very different as well and so survivability rates have gone way up. The "combat medic" is constantly evolving and taking on more and more roles and responsibility which enables them to be used in more settings other than the "front line".

I was a combat medic my entire 20 year career. 1967-1988. Majority of my time was spent w combat arms type units. Armored, infantry, engineer ( cbt) to include a tour in Vietnam. ( 69-70) last four years as an instructor at Ft Sam Houston teaching combat medics. No regrets. Medics can be assigned to any unit. I had one hospital assignment in Italy. Rest of rt time was in combat arms units( except my instructor time)

Today's bandages are quite different than the bandages that were carried in Vietnam, however at the end of the day they are still bandages, fluids and I.V. supplies are still a staple. However there are many new trends that are often carried, things such as "plastic wrap, i.e. Saran Wrap", and tampons, which have unconventional usages in field medicine that are far removed from the manufacturers envisioned usages. Medics now have single piece rapid application tourniquets that can easily be applied in under a minute, sometimes much faster. No matter how fast a medic was with the old improvised tourniquets, the new are faster. Some of the protocols have changed over the years as now on the battlefield, almost any bleeding injury to an extremity gets a tourniquet initially before even trying any type of bandage (this is in combat conditions), There is an acronym for how to do almost anything these days, but some of us older medics just do it and somehow manage to cover all of those bases. At the end of the day being a medic hasn't changed much, the tools may look different, certain things might be done in a slightly different order, but we still focus on the same goals to take care of our fellow soldiers or any patients coming under our care.

The MOS numbers have changed of course. Our equipment changes as the time does. We have much better, smaller, and more efficient medical gear now. I had IV kits, tons of guaze, Coban, surgical kit, few syringes w/needles, various medications, morphine/narcan, foldable splints, chest seals, pulse oxemeter, thermometer, BP cuff, stethascope, casualty cards, Tarascon pocket pharmacopia (drug info),tourniquets, bandage scissors, etc.
Standard loadout: BA, helmet, protective pads, M4, 9mm, several different knives. As for 'specials' only those trained could carry and use morphine/narcan. Oh, and I LOVE the Israeli bandages. Everyone including me was issued an IFAK so they'd have basic stuff on them: small things, including a tourniquet. I was one of the lucky ones who got a 3-point sling for my M4 which made it easier to move and stay out of the way when I needed to treat.
Unfortunately, I have but a fraction of what I did have. My first back was the too big, too much padding, clunky Blackhawk bag for only 1 deployment. Thankfully I got a newer bag which carried the same stuff and then some (map holder on the top flap) which is smaller and feels lighter. Much better design and more organized.

If that's a rep of the bag you used to carry, that's about what CLS guys carry now, doc's bag is much bigger than it used to be. And thank goodness for the extra gear.

So, when I was supporting the convoy team during my tour in OEF i had a basic load (210 rounds), my M-4, a London bridge with enough medical supplies to treat 4 or 5 critical causalities. Then on my IOTV i had two pouches with supplies to treat 4 more causalities. I carried basic medications for general health issues and a lot of NSIDs. We were strictly mounted so I did not carry my pack everywhere with me it stayed in the truck.

I don't think the 91A was as highly trained as a 68W... The main change is the addition of TC3. There is a wider range of medication and supplies a 68W must carry. As I had a conversation with the State Surgeon, the combat load for medics today is 45lbs of medical supplies, much more than what was required in Vietnam or the 1st gulf war.