what is involved in becoming a combat flight medic

[mstovall]

I was watching Bahgdad ER not long ago and have been wondering how they pick who becomes a flight medic? Are they 68W's? I can't find an MOS that is specific to this. Is there additional trainging that is more selective after AIT? I have scanned through the list and not seen anything that obviously answers my question, though soemthing might be hidden in a post. This is just a curiosity question. Thanks in advance for any answers.

Michael

[Dustdevil]

Yes, they are just 68 Whiskeys sent to a specialty school at Fort Rucker. There is no separate MOS, as there is in the Air Force. Primarily, they are only Staff Sergeant and above (over 6 years of service), and picked from a long, long list of applicants according to service history.

I believe they have recently begun taking lower ranked medics to the school as they increase the class numbers, but the competition is still fierce.

[air.stump]

Hey Michael,

Flight medic school is four weeks at beautiful Ft. Rucker, Alabama. This is a hour north of Pensacola. It consists of aeromed physiology, ACLS, PALS or PEPP, and ITLS(the old BTLS). My flight partner is there now and I go in August.

As for getting a slot, you start by finding one. The next step is to get a flight physical. This is where it gets a bit dicey because nothing usually happens till the physical is finished. Most units won't look at you till the physical is done. Once this is done, then, you can get into the school.

Last time I looked at the grad class list, the majority of the class was E-4 to E-6. Don't quote me but the web page for the school says something to the effect of E-5 and below for active and E-whatever for the Guard.

As for the MOS, Dust is right in that all of them are 68W. There is no ASI for the school. What you do get is a SQI of F for flight. I go to school this August but have had a F for the last three years, go figure.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have other questions or post them here.