Medical team at work during the Battle of Normandy.

Norwegian medics during an exercise.

A combat medic is a trained soldier who is responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. Also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and non battle injury. Combat medics are normally co-located with the combat troops they serve in order to easily move with the troops and monitor ongoing health. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 729 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3015 × 2480 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 729 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3015 × 2480 pixel, file size: 2. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Canada Free France Poland Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Omar Bradley (U.S. 1st Army) Miles Dempsey (UK 2nd Army) Harry Crerar (Canadian 1st Army) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 640 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 640 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... First aid is a series of simple, life-saving medical techniques that a non-doctor or layman can be trained to perform. ... Medicine is the science and art of maintaining andor restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of patients. ...

Combat medics are officially known by a variety of names. In the United States Army, medics have often been called 68Ws since December of 2005. In the United States Navy, they are known as Corpsmen and fill the combat medic role of the United States Marine Corps, which does not have its own medical personnel. Combat Medical Technicians (CMTs) in the British Army are members of the Royal Army Medical Corps. The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... 68W (often pronounced as 6 8 Whiskey using the phonetic alphabet) is the Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) for the United States Armys healthcare specialist, also known as the combat medic. ... USN redirects here. ... Hospital Corpsmen (HMs) are members of the United States Navy Hospital Corps. ... The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States military responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. ... Combat Medical Technicians evacuating a casualty in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia The Combat Medical Technician (Cbt Med Tech) is a soldier with a specialist military trade within the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) of the British Army. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace. ...

In most armies, medics wear specific insignia, with a prominent Red Cross on a white background. Islamic countries use a red crescent instead while Israeli medics wear the Magen David Adom (a red star of David on a white background). These symbols signify to enemy soldiers that the medic is a noncombatant, providing medical care. For many years, most medics have carried at least a side arm like the handgun and knife (and now, frequently a rifle, carbine or submachine gun), to be used as a defensive weapon. Medical personnel may be armed, but may only use their weapons to protect themselves or the wounded and sick in their care. If they use their arms offensively (i.e. attacking or assaulting), or carry arms that qualify as offensive (such as a sniper rifle, machine gun or grenade launcher), they then sacrifice their protection under the Geneva Conventions. Generally, a medic holding his/her weapon is considered to be an armed, military threat. According to the Geneva Convention, knowingly firing at a medic wearing clear insignia is a war crime. The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... For people named Islam, see Islam (name). ... The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is the worlds largest group of humanitarian non-governmental organizations, often known simply as the Red Cross, after its original symbol. ... The Magen David Adom emblem The Magen David Adom (Hebrew: ‎) is Israels national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. ... This article is about a Jewish symbol. ... Non-combatant is a military and legal term describing civilians not engaged in combat. ... A side arm is a small personal weapon that is typically worn on the body in a holster in such a way to permit immediate access and use. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A carbine is a firearm similar to, but generally shorter and less powerful than, a rifle or musket of a given period. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A defensive weapon is a personal weapon that is primarily intended for defending the user against an attacker. ... The M40, United States Army standard-issue sniper rifle. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... A grenade launcher is weapon that fires or launches a grenade to longer distances than a soldier could throw by hand. ... Original document. ... In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...

History

During World War II (and before the implementation of the 1949 revision to the Geneva Convention made it illegal), there was an unwritten law of ethics between Allied and German forces whereby soldiers would not knowingly fire at a medic treating a wounded comrade. This was in stark contrast to the policy of the Japanese forces, who regarded medics as primary targets, resulting in Allied medics removing or covering their insignia. Instead of calling for a "medic" a wounded Marine would call for a "corpsman" or other name in order to confuse Japanese soldiers and prevent them from shooting medics. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For other uses, see Ethics (disambiguation). ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... Wehrmacht   (armed forces, literally defence force(s)) was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) (KyÅ«jitai: 大日本帝國陸軍, Shinjitai: , Romaji: Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun) was the official ground based armed force of Imperial Japan from 1867 to 1945. ... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ...

See also

• Battlefield medicine
• Combat lifesaver
• Polytrauma

An illustration showing a variety of wounds from the Feldbuch der Wundarznei (Field manual for the treatment of wounds) by Hans von Gersdorff, (1517). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into 68W. (Discuss) First aid kit of the French Army CLS bag of the US Army A combat lifesaver is a service member who has received rudimentary training in advanced first aid skills. ... Polytrauma is used to describe the condition of a person who has been subjected to multiple traumatic injuries, such as a serious head injury AND a serious burn. ...

External links

• 90th Infantry Division Preservation Group Medical section showing equipment of US, German and Japanese Medics.

References