Anyone a medic in the 173rd over in Italy? If so, how is it?

PV2 Jared Coleman, I am not a medic and I am not in the 173rd now but I was there from '13 to '16. Do you know which Battalion your going to? I ask because the Cavalry and Artillery Battalions are in Germany. The rest of the Brigade is in Vicenza Italy in two separate locations. Ederle (the main post) and Del Din. 173rd has been involved in numerous NATO training events and Rotations to the Baltics since December 2014. The Brigade has not deployed since it came back from Afghanistan in '13 but it stays busy. There 3 or 4 training rotations in a year in addition to the Baltics mission which range from 3 to 6 months. You get a lot of downtime when you are not gone and you can see all of Europe if you love to travel. Let me know if you have more questions so I can give specifics in a message. Good luck.

Hey Brother, I was stationed in Germany with a Medical BDG but had the opportunity to talk to a lot of the 173rd Medics working in Grafenwoehr, Germany. I inquired about working in Italy and they told me it was horrible. If you're the really "hoah-hoah" type you might enjoy it but they told me they did what they could to get over to Germany so that they could avoid the relentless BS they had to deal with in Vicenza. Of course that's all hearsay.

That being said, being stationed in Europe is completely what YOU make of it. You'll likely hear that quite a bit. Don't be a barracks rat. Get out, explore, attempt to learn the language, make friends with locals, stay away from base on the weekends and try to appreciate the fact you're living in a beautiful country. Too many people play the "ignorant American" card and complain how difficult is dealing with another culture or finding english speaking citizens (in a country whose primary language isn't English..) And they don't stray too far from post where everything is within their zone of comfort.

Don't dig too deep. You're at the bottom of totem pole. Do the work you're told to. Know your medicine even if you don't use it that often. If you're working under a PA try and soak up as much knowledge as you can, they're typically wicked smart people. For now, get things in order back home and Enjoy Europe, whichever country you find yourself in!