Posted on Jun 24, 2016
What should the physical requirements for 68 W be?
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68 CMF physical requirements just came out for 2017. The 68W has 12 task to complete from skill level 1-4 while skill level 5 has 11 task. Each task involves the medic wearing 98 lbs of gear and typically carrying, dragging or picking up weight around 54 lbs-200 lbs for some distance around 300 feet. Additionally they should be able to travel up to 12 miles with 98 lbs worth of gear
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
68W: Healthcare Specialist (Combat Medic)
Health
Fitness
Readiness
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 25
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FORSCOM ready medic. Downrange all together for me was about 110-130 so I'd say they got it in a good ballpark
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Personally, I think it's too much. I thought it was a little weird that the physical requirements are more strenuous than military police. I'm sure there's valid reasons, but on a day by day basis I don't see it.
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SGT Kristin Wiley
SSG Duke Hall - I'm mostly just pissed they'd let me reclassified to MP and not combat medic because of my permanent profile. Yes, I know there are strenuous tasks, but at the higher echelons I've never seen them do much more than sit in a TMC.
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LTC (Join to see)
most military police units are not expected to work outside the wire. it totally makes sense that the requirements for personnel who leave the wire with bean bullets etc need to carry them outside the confines of a FOB where they are delivered to you everyday.
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Is this something that's going to be taking effect in 2017 for the first time? Sounds fun. I know not all our medics can do that.
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SSG (Join to see)
Sounds like you're hoping someone will be forced into another MOS or out of the military. Don't expect it to happen so easily. Pt failures don't force soldiers out. The overweight program doesn't work either because there's always somebody higher providing cover. I tried relentlessly to force soldiers out prior to my current deployment mostly for PT and overweight, and one for being a shitbag, didn't matter though because we "need the numbers."
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There's plenty of talk here about how some sort of test like that would be "too much" for MEDCOM Medics to perform. Currently serving in a MEDDAC, I wouldn't deny that. I'd say that the majority of Medics here, even ones that had previously had years of experience in line units, struggle with the current APFT, never mind the new CMF physical requirements that are being suggested.
It's a sorry sight to behold, and it's one of the many reasons that I would rather that 68Cs be slotted for MEDCOM positions instead. Lord knows I didn't enlist to operate a vital machine and punch keys, and this kind of environment is just less than ideal for Medics. I've done less than four IVs in the past four months, and I've been having to go to the gym during my lunch break just to stay fit. If there's any question to whether Medics could handle these kind of demands, it's only because of places like this.
It's a sorry sight to behold, and it's one of the many reasons that I would rather that 68Cs be slotted for MEDCOM positions instead. Lord knows I didn't enlist to operate a vital machine and punch keys, and this kind of environment is just less than ideal for Medics. I've done less than four IVs in the past four months, and I've been having to go to the gym during my lunch break just to stay fit. If there's any question to whether Medics could handle these kind of demands, it's only because of places like this.
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My thought's are just do it...I don't mean to sound strong or anything like that. What I mean is at least for me, it was mind over matter, and I "just did it". I'm on the smaller end of it as I'm 5'4" and I weigh about 130'ish at the time. Cause I lost some weight do to a head injury during basic. But I still was able to fireman carry a soldier with his gear and mine (including all my medic gear) for some distance and scanning around too! So I think to be a medic (68 W) you should be able to do anything. A soldier's life is depending on us, you to be able to save his ass and the medic better be in damn good shape to do so and that's just not medically either. Sometimes your under fire and you "might" have to scoop and run and I sure hope that your in shape to do so. Before i went to basic I was running and hiking with a weighted back pack and hiked up thi swell known mountain in Marin County CA. MT.Tam. And I was getting 290 in basic because of it then 300+. My point is that we have to be in best of shape for anything, for any time for any MOS.
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As a new medic, it's not that bed in my opinion, you wear your IBA, and you wear your aid bag and quick bag and canteens on either side of you, that amounts to probably 50lbs all together, if you have sapi plates in, which you should, then you have to carry someone who's also got an IBA/IOTV on, in an appropriate carry, to avoid injury, I enjoy it, but it's not meant for everyone
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So I got a bit more clarification from the people in the know. Two events will be tested for the new 68Ws coming in. These two will be integrated with a skills station and their FTX. With only two being tested, I wonder how it's going to spread throughout the force and if it's just going to be one of those things that are missed. The CRT is supposed to be coming out soon, but no one really knows what all that involves...
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SFC (Join to see)
Medics aren't carrying the same as an infantry man in a lot of cases. Take the poor guy that is hauling around the 240B or the guy carrying the mortar tube and six rounds.
Being a line medic (before all the additional PPE came) I use to walk with my platoon and along with my aidbag, I'd hump the mortar base plate and I've carried the 240 or assisted the AG when we had to establish a 50 cal position. Thats fun times. I wish they could get the weight we carry down. There is lighter armor out there and better ways to carry packs. It's a slow learning process that is often spearheaded by those smaller units that have a bit more money to do research and development with a more narrow mission set.
We need to teach medics some ditch dirt medicine and not to carry everything in the aidstation. We pack for worst case and it doesn't come up a lot. I know we never want to leave our grunts in pain cause we didn't want to carry something.
Being a line medic (before all the additional PPE came) I use to walk with my platoon and along with my aidbag, I'd hump the mortar base plate and I've carried the 240 or assisted the AG when we had to establish a 50 cal position. Thats fun times. I wish they could get the weight we carry down. There is lighter armor out there and better ways to carry packs. It's a slow learning process that is often spearheaded by those smaller units that have a bit more money to do research and development with a more narrow mission set.
We need to teach medics some ditch dirt medicine and not to carry everything in the aidstation. We pack for worst case and it doesn't come up a lot. I know we never want to leave our grunts in pain cause we didn't want to carry something.
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Hmmmm, seems a bit unrealistic to me. We are not training super soldiers and we are a little overworked and undermanned to maintain such goals. I would like to believe that all NCO's know how to conduct training and pt but this is not always the case and leaving it up to the Soldier to do on their own you may get about half of them to do it. In the long run this standard will only push people to extremes when needed causing damage to their bodies. Just my thoughts...
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This exaggerates the outlined requirements. People will have a twisted expectation of the requirement. The requirement is already completed, please wait until then to judge.
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