Medics are not Riflemen
A recent article in VFW Magazine on Medics and corpsmen in Iraq ("Rifleman or Medic") lays out the awful truth of what this service looks like today. This is not an attack on these personnel, whose praises cannot be sung highly enough. Rather, I am against the misuse of these brave and dedicated people.
The pictures accompanying the article are heartbreaking, and the facts equally as harrowing. The following are all quotations from the piece:
Medics are not combatants, and the arming and use of them as supplementary rifleman shows the desperate "war on the cheap" mentality of current military and civilian leadership.
Of course, medical personnel should be armed for defensive purposes, but defensive only. Their jobs are so dangerous that exposing them needlessly as assault members is a criminally irresponsible act. This fact is not, can not and should not be negated by saying, "The terrorists shoot them!"
U.S. standards of conduct and compliance to the GC is not contingent upon what our adversaries do, but rather, by our actions. If you militarize the medic, you ipso-facto remove GC protection.
Medics are not a combat asset and should not be used as such. Doing so exposes a valuable asset to needless exposure. God made riflemen to fight battles, and if this were not true, medics would wear Combat Infantry Badges instead of Combat Medic Badges.
Let's show our respect by proper utilization of these priceless service members.
The pictures accompanying the article are heartbreaking, and the facts equally as harrowing. The following are all quotations from the piece:
- As of 12/29/06, 97 Medics and Corpsmen have died in Afghanistan and Iraq
- Docs might have to literally fight to get to a wounded soldier or Marine
- Corpsmen are trained to fight in hand-to-hand combat
- Medics learn that they must be prepared to fight at all times
- One medic, on his weapon returning fire can make the difference between the enemy staying and continuing to fire on us
- I'm a Marine first, a Corpsman second
Medics are not combatants, and the arming and use of them as supplementary rifleman shows the desperate "war on the cheap" mentality of current military and civilian leadership.
Of course, medical personnel should be armed for defensive purposes, but defensive only. Their jobs are so dangerous that exposing them needlessly as assault members is a criminally irresponsible act. This fact is not, can not and should not be negated by saying, "The terrorists shoot them!"
U.S. standards of conduct and compliance to the GC is not contingent upon what our adversaries do, but rather, by our actions. If you militarize the medic, you ipso-facto remove GC protection.
Medics are not a combat asset and should not be used as such. Doing so exposes a valuable asset to needless exposure. God made riflemen to fight battles, and if this were not true, medics would wear Combat Infantry Badges instead of Combat Medic Badges.
Let's show our respect by proper utilization of these priceless service members.
posted by rangeragainstwar at 2:31 PM
3 Comments:
Well said!! This is another stark example of the blurring of things that used to be clearly defined and distinguishable as either right or wrong, lawful or unlawful. GSJ
It's very easy to sit there at the end of your keyboard and say the medics should not have a rifle in thier hands. Let a few AK rounds crackle by your head and see if YOU would like to defend yourself with just your medical bag. I say arm them well, train them well and let them do defend themselves and thier team members wounded or not. You should be ashamed of yourself.
anon II,
Jim was not saying that medics should not be armed; they always have been.
However, they should only have to resort to fighting if their cover goes down. Jim's point was, medics should not be tasked with primary self-defense in addition to executing their medical function. That is unjust.
--Lisa
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