US Army: 68W Combat Medic

68 Whiskey MOS is a use of a OTAN phonetic alphabet for the specialty of military occupations corresponding to the United States Army, and which refers to the Combat Medic, among its responsibilities is to provide emergency medical treatment to the wounded in the fields of combat.

Brief History of 68 Whiskey MOS

Previously, the 68W Combat Medic was called "Combat Medicine Specialist". At the time of the armed conflict with Vietnam, the MOS code of this group was 91A, in September 1999, the Army General Staff announced changes in the MOS 91B and 91C of Licensed Practical Nursing, establishing a transition of all the personnel of both MOS to 91W, change that would be effective from October 2001 and would conclude at the end of September 2007.

A plan was implemented to train and maintain EMT certifications, medical emergency technicians, which had optional features in the past, all staff with MOS 91C certification was converted to 91W, which would later become 68 W, with additional M6 skill certifications.

In that transition period, all military personnel with 91B and 91C ratings were given the Y2 identifier, and underwent additional training, then converted to 91W, to different MOS or discharged from the Army.

Administratively, the 68 W designation has had its changes, they were called only Combat Medic, and this designation was changed to Medical Care Specialists, in order to allow soldiers to have the alternative of acquiring their civilian equivalent, comparing the skills learned by the U.S. Army with similar personnel in the civilian branch.

For this reason, it was changed to specialists in combat medicine, in order to preserve the name and reputation that this MOS already had established, in a popular way this body is called the "Doc", they come to enjoy the confidence of the infantry soldiers who are under their care, it is not easy to be one of them, it is a noble profession that requires much humanity, knowledge and skills, the fundamental objective of 68 W is to become a solid to build, sustain and transform the Army Medicine.

Facts of the 68 W Combat Medic

• They were the first to enlist in the Vietnam War, known as 91A, where they saved countless lives, not only of their army, but also of Vietnamese villagers, taking great risks, provided trauma care on the battlefield, and they were responsible for the prevention and daily treatment of the variety of injuries and diseases that the troops came to suffer, many of the members of this body in Vietnam had to fight in battles, among their medical kits, came to rifles, hand weapons and even grenades

• Deployed in the 1990s and 1991 in Iraq as medical support to troops in the operation called Desert Storm

• Participated in the war against Iraq since 2003
• The 68W, M O S Army Medical, was given in early October 2006

• Since 2007, they make efforts in the contribution and maintenance of traditions and customs, managing to maintain cohesion in the units, security and courage

• During the last decade they have developed a training program for care specialists in the military

The specialty of this body remains open in opportunities for both men and women, of course they must pass tests and achieve minimum scores such as 107 in GT and 101 in ST, and vocational aptitude is essential.

Written by: RosaCastellanos