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Why would you bother with gloves for an IV if you're not going to bother with them when they *really* count? And sure, you're not supposed to deploy with known HIV/Hepatitis, etc... so, it's totally unheard of for someone to catch it after they're screened, right? Ignorant... Mm. You had potential here... shame. I'm done... Wendy CO EMT-B

I've heard some ignorant statements before, but this one has to take the cake! Yeah, you work under hazardous fire conditions, and 'battlefield medicine' is a separate breed from what we do on the streets (unless you're a tactical medic or just happen to work in places like Detroit), but to KNOW about bloodborne pathogens and still WILLINGLY risk exposure is pure insanity! You already know that there are things out there that even Ajax wont f*ck with, and yet you risk not only contaminating your buddies, and yourself....but everyone you come in contact with! Your 'ten foot tall and bulletproof' mentality all but seals your fate of contracting and spreading the next 'evil thing' out there! O.K., so you're 101st Airborne, congratulations. But as another vet with 'combat time' (one of a long list), I'm not going to fall down, kiss your boots, and acknowledge your 'god status'! Since you've 'got your EMT-B'...guess what? Like it or not, you ARE an EMT! Live with it! Just because you're part of a unit with a long and storied past doesn't mean that the rules of nature will skip you out of respect. It don't work that way. Ultimately, it's not about the title; it's about trying to save lives (albeit in different arenas) and trying to do it as SAFELY as possible! If being called an EMT is such an 'insult'...then WHY do you do it? Don't try to fool yourself and bullshit the rest of us...you ARE doing an 'EMT job' even on the battlefield! What I find really amusing is I've worked and gone to school with guys from the 3rdI.D., (who have been deployed to the Gulf region as much if not more than the 101st, and they don't seem to have that screwed up mentality. That testosterone fueled macho attitude may fly within your unit, and on post; but it's not buying you alot of friends here....

I was with your train of thought, bro (because I know Airborne thinking patterns) until this last bit. Here, I think you dropped the ball, and you're going to catch a LOT of flack for it(not just from me, either I bet.) OK, I get the whole "balls to the walls" hero mentality... and I understand that combat medicine involves treating while under fire. WTF is wrong with you that you don't take the 15 seconds to protect yourself? How about popping a pair of nitriles on under your tactical gloves, so that you don't increase your chances of exposure to bloodborne pathogens? I know there's not always time to stop, put on gloves, etc... but you can prep yourself as your unit's medic. Lead by example, dude... you're smart enough to wear a condom, right? This is no different. You wanna die of hepatitis? Nasty way to go... and the thought of going to the VA for care for that for the rest of whatever life you've got is scary indeed. Way to disrespect the SISTERS AND MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS who are fighting just as hard as you are. I dig that there's no chicks in the Airborne, and there's not as many women on the front... but there are women in intelligence and support and medical who are just as vital to the operation of the military as you are. One of my acquaintances just graduated boot and is on contract to be in an aeromedical drop unit. Your first phrase, "it's about a soldier's life" is absolutely spot on. The rest is realllly narrow thinking. Get your head out of your ass. Just because your unit is a bunch of hopped up male adrenaline plane-jumpers doesn't mean that you wholly represent the entirety of the armed forces. No, it's not, from our perspective. We're looking at your education and understanding of medicine, not your setting. I understand that "medic" is a near and dear term to you where you are. It's a badge of honor. Medic means something different in the military- it means "the nearest dude who can maybe plug my bullet holes" and I get that this is different from civvy EMS. But you're on a civilian forum, discussing *medicine* with a group of people who are mostly civilian with some former military and reserve mixed in. We appreciate YOU for what YOU do... don't piss on us and get all touchy because we refer to your actual civilian EMT level. You are indeed a separate breed of EMS, but when it comes down to it you're an EMT-B with some EMT-I skills and less education than nearly any paramedic on this forum. Have some respect for yourself. Step back and try to think outside your military box for a little bit. If you don't protect yourself with something as simple as gloves and don't recognize that you are speaking from a viewpoint that many of us will never be able to fully understand, you're just going to piss people off here. Have you ever stopped to wonder WHY 101st Airborne has such high suicide and mental illness rates? Couldn't have anything to do with the mentality and culture of the unit, could it? Sure, you're getting exposed to gnarly shit... but I bet the special ops folks have a lot more skeletons than you, and for some reason they don't seem to have as many issues proportionally speaking when they get out of the service. Just food for thought. Stay safe out there. Wendy CO EMT-B

Er. I think there's a bit of a difference between a mosque and a burning cross. A better analogy would be no white owned churches in black neighborhoods. Ted Kacynski, Tim McVeigh, and the abortion clinic bombers all send their regards. Also, there was a pretty lengthy period when the Christians were the world's terrorists. It doesn't make terrorism right, but neither does claiming that any one religion is someone the religion of terror. Well, gee, we weren't expecting a Spanish Inquisition or anything. Also, what about the numerous Muslims who who weren't terrorists that died on 9/11? Oh, wait, their death means less than those real, red blooded Christian Americans who died, right? Also, how far away is "appropriate." Should any mosques currently in that radius be torn down? Should churches be torn down near abortion clinics because radical Christians bombed abortion clinics? I'm sorry... you lost me here. Are you saying that Christian religions aren't homophobic or contain scriptures that consider any non-Christian religion as being sinful? Also, there's a very large difference between not ignoring a child who hits other people and blaming an entire religion for the acts of a few, regardless of what that few claim that their actions are for. Any response to this conversation being turned around? ..and, for the record, child molestation is not an issue unique to the Catholic Church. Example, those crazy Baptists who blamed a girl for getting pregnant after being raped. No more Baptist churches with in 1000 feet of a playground or school? http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/police-girl-raped-then-relocated

Here's the deal. No, all Muslims do not believe the extreme lunacy of radical Islam, just as all Christians do not agree with white supremacist's bastardization of Christianity. Does that mean we should allow the KKK to set up a few burning crosses in the middle of an area of a city that is predominantly black? I'm sick and tired of all this PC bull. Sorry folks, but all over the planet, terrorists are predominantly Muslim in nature. Shall we list all the recent attacks perpetrated by radical Muslims? They want to build a new mosque? Fine, but NYC is a big area- pick another spot. WHY does it need to be in such close proximity to the WTC site? It's a slap in the face to those who died and the families they left behind. Every single one of those 9/11 hijackers were Muslim, what they did was because of their "religion". Fact. I don't give a crap if those who want to build that mosque are the best people on the planet. It's wrong and completely insensitive, and if these Muslims cannot understand that, then maybe they aren't the best examples of people who follow Islam.

To play the devils advocate and not politically correct. Seasons Greetings

Perhaps some may see this is a a bad thing. I however, do not. The tragic events that happened on 9/11 should not reflect on those terrorist's religion as a whole. Yes, they were Muslim but not all Muslims are terrorists. We as a country need to be more tolerant of others. Just because they are different in any way, some people have to dislike them. There is a Mosque being built near Ground Zero... I think this is good. It shows the world we ARE tolerant and welcome the faith of others. Even in the shadows of one of the worst events that has happened to our country, it shows everyone we are tolerant. Remember folks, just because the spot is a dog, and spot has four legs.. doesn't mean all dogs have four legs.

No reason for that Ben ... He certainly is not the brightest crayon in the box, but he's still a crayola.

Nah but you're a dipshit

No on all accounts. Students should not expect every detail to be spoon fed to them. Perhaps as you were aware that the skills test was coming up you could have taken it upon yourself to study the material?

At the time of the shooting I wouldn't blame you for returning fire but afterward yeah that's what we do.

Seargents, what unit are yall apart of? (standing at parade rest lol)

Your gonna hate fort sam houston seargent......its like not a military base. More officers then enlisted personell there. Tons of butter bars straight out of OCS. Its really funny when you walk by and salute them and they freeze up and dont know what to do.

Fort Sam Houston is pretty gay now. Atleast when i went through Charlie Co. 232 medical Battalion....we got smoked every day, they tossed our bays every day, we got mass punished for everything, we got dephased 3 times throughout the cycle, no weekend passes, super fast paced, low passing rate, lots of people fail out, less sleep then basic training, in most cases less then 1 hour personal time. It was a shitty 18 weeks, i would have just done basic training twice instead of going back there for a fresh 18;.

LOL i get -2 rep for talking about how the 232 medical battalion is, LOL. But yeah too many females got raped so they took our overnight passes and whatnot. Did you know 68w(medic) and 11B(Infantry) are the only people living in bays for AIT? Every other MOS gets 2 to 4 man rooms for AIT. Lol.

I cant speak for the whole Army, but i can speak for the 101st Airborne. We lead the military in Suicides and AWOLS. Nothing to be proud of, but the Department of the Army has the whole division deploying back to back at all times. We all smoke or chew, i have actually never in my life seen as many tobacco users since coming to Ft.Campbell. Dont get me wrong, there are millions of movies and stuff about us, and we fight hard. Death before dismount, we get the job done...but there are consequences of it also. I was there last christmas, but i was chilling at my spots, Around Seneca Valley (i went there), Fox Chapel, Rolling Hills, the neighborhoods around Reburto Clemente etc.. etc.. Theres the New Shady Grove mini ER by Crystal Rock and stuff. But some things never change, Montgomery County Police are still assholes and will beat your ass for no reason. They tried to arrest me, what for i dont know....but my military ID got them to fuck off. Oh btw. I have an EMT-B, but i am not an EMT. Dont call me one. EMT's only come out with BSI and when the scene is safe. We run out with bullets flying, and dont give a fuck about BSI.Its about a soldiers life, sending a father home to his children, sending a husband home to his wife, sending a son back to his parents. We conserve the fighting forces of this country. We supress enemy fire, its our first priority. Its insulting to call a combat medic an EMT. Thats an insult senior medics will use to call younger medics at times. Please dont call me an EMT. I appreciate all of you for what you do, its a tough job. Long hours, legalities, protocols, etc... but we are very different. We are a seperate breed of EMS.

Im a line medic in an infantry unit. All infantry is males. All combat jobs, Infantry, Cavalry Scout, Tanker, Artillary, Forward Observers are males. I work with males. Sure females work all the POG jobs, Females are vital to the Army. I dont work with them, they dont go on the front in most cases. Therefore I dont send sisters mothers and daughters anywhere, aside from out of my room in the morning.(Thats a joke). Also, BSI is cool and all if your giving your drunk battle buddies IV's, but in the battle field if someone is bleeding arterially, or has other life threatening injuries im not going to waste my time putting gloves on, every second counts. I also know thaat soldiers cant deploy with viral STD's, HIV, Hepatitis and whatnot.