BRIEF OVERVIEW OF AIR FORCE MEDICINE. Mr Vaughn Cavender 22 years as Air Force Medic

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1 BRIEF OVERVIEW OF AIR FORCE MEDICINE Mr Vaughn Cavender 22 years as Air Force Medic

2 Before September there was the Army Air Corp. The Army Air Corp provided both ground and air capabilities. On September The Air Force Became it s own branch of armed service. Only a few enlisted Airman were allowed to transfer from the Army Medical Service to the newly formed Air Force.

3 With the inception of the newly formed Air Force the need to build a new medical force was established. Most of the enlisted medical training was conducted at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls Texas which has since been moved to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio Texas.

4 The Air Force was responsible for most of the Air Power, radar stations, and nuclear assets. In the mid 1950 s training programs were established to meet the requirements for more skilled medical personnel at radar sites, and in the missile fields to take care of the 100 or less personnel assigned.

5 Since there were less than 100 personnel assigned at these sites it was neither cost-effective nor practical to send a physician or dentist or other health care professional to every site. But since it was essential to have medical care available, The IDMT s were assigned to fill this need.

6 After the end of the Cold War in the late 1980 s, the number of sites requiring Independent Medical support Drastically decreased. However, the 1990 s introduced new operational doctrine including military operations other than war. When operations Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom began, the Need For IDMT s at bare base locations increased.

7 Today four out of the five branches of service have their own medical services. The Marines are the only branch of military that does not have it s own medical service. The Marines belong to the Department of the Navy and utilize the Navy s medical assets.

8 Military Medical personnel have special protections afforded to them from the Geneva Convention. Medical personnel will carry a special ID card that identifies them as medical personnel. Medical personnel are classified as non-combatants and by international law cannot be targeted by hostile forces. Medical personnel are allowed to carry a weapon but can only utilize it in a defensive posture. They can use the weapon in defense of themselves, their patient or defense of their medical supplies. If medical personnel are embedded with a combat unit and are doing offensive operations they lose the protection afforded to them. If medical personnel are captured by law they can not be held in a prisoner of war status. Medical personnel must be returned as soon as possible and allowed to treat their own troops for any medical care. They can also be utilized to provide medical care of the enemy. Medical personnel also have to wear a white armband with a red cross on it identifying them as medical personnel.

9 In the early 1970 s returning Vietnam medics that were highly trained had no where to put their skills to use. Because of this the Physician s Assistant program was created. The PA program put these skills to use and allowed a new medical profession to treat patients. In front of the PA school at the University of Utah there is a statue dedicated to the military medic for without them there would never have been a PA.

10 The Air Force has just about every medical profession to provide medical for all Active Duty, their dependents, and retired personnel and their dependents. There are two other entities that the uniformed services provide care for. The United States Public Health Service, and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The only medical service that the Air Force does not provide Is Veterinarian services the Army provides this service.

11 The Air Force Medical Service has two different career paths to follow Enlisted and Officer. The Enlisted provide the bulk of the non-professional Medical Service. The jobs that the Air Force offers are varied and they can be anywhere from direct patient care to administrative jobs. The Air Force provides it s own training program for these enlisted jobs. Some medical jobs like Radiology Technician and Pharmacy Technician offers licensure in the respected fields which transfer to the civilian career market.

12 The Officer career path are for the professionals such as Physician, Nurse, Dentist, Radiologist to name a few. The Air Force has a program to where they will pay for a students medical school for a commitment of service.

13 The path I chose was the Enlisted route, when I went into the Air Force I was a 902x0 Medical Services Specialist. This job I was a nursing assistant and preformed a wide variety of tasks and skills. I worked in the in patient units, Critical care, Emergency room. The career field has been redesiginated to 4N0x1 Aerospace Medical Technician. I did this job for about 10 years and decided I needed more of a challenge so I became an IDMT (Independent Duty Medical Technician).

14 To get into IDMT school one had to be recommended by their supervisor, chief nurse, senior medical technician and then by the SGH which is the chief doctor. One must also have had a wealth of experience in the inpatient units, critical care and emergency rooms and also have at least the rank of E-5. After having interviews with all of the above people your paperwork is then submitted for approval at the Air Force level to attend IDMT school.

15 What is an IDMT exactly? Well the IDMT is an enlisted Medical Provider or Physician Extender. The duties of an IDMT are Provide direct patient care, see patients diagnose, write prescriptions, perform medical laboratory testing and interpreting lab tests, dentistry, medical admin, Veterinarian care to Military Working Dogs, Public Health duties to include food inspections, shop visits for hearing conservation programs, disease tracking. Bio which does the water, soil and air sampling and interpreting results. The IDMT has a wide variety of tasks and is usually the only Medical provider at smaller sites. With some IDMT jobs they Are embedded with a combat unit and provide total care for their assigned unit.

16 Air Force IDMT school is 12 weeks but you have at least Four years of experience before going to school. The Navy has Independent Duty Corpsmen (IDC) they function the same way Air Force IDMT s do except the Navy learns Shipboard water systems. The Army has the 18 Delta which is classified as a Special Forces Medic, the Coast Guard goes through the Air Force IDMT School.

17 Being in military medicine also offers some additional training that one would not receive outside the military. Some of the unique training that one receives is very extensive training in Chemical, Biological and Nuclear. You learn about how to wear the chemical protective suit, how Chemical, Biological and Nuclear weapons affect the body and how to detect and care for patients that have been exposed to these agents. After the events of September 11 th I carried Cipro in case of an Anthrax attack. I also had to ensure that everyone in my unit were given the proper anti malaria medications because our new location was a Malaria zone.

18 Today s IDMT deploys all over the world and augments the medical mission. When the IDMT is not deployed they are back at their home base training and getting their unit ready for the next deployment.

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39 I joined the Air Force in 1985 and stayed in for 22 years retiring in 2006.I have been all over the world and participated in many operations. Some of the operations I have participated in. Panama First Gulf War Somalia Bosnia Global War on Terrorism I was in Kuwait when September 11 th occurred and went to forward location to support operations in Afghanistan.

40 Being a military medic is challenging, rewarding and at times very hard on you both physically and mentally. Too Many times have I had to witness horrible things that take place in combat that I will never forget, and take care of some people that I have become friends with that were a casualty of direct combat actions that have died in front of me. The rewarding parts is working with other branches of service and other countries militaries and earning the respect of them and earning the title of Doc. Frequent deployments can also take a toll on family members that are left back home.

41 This was just a small slice of what military medicine offers whatever you decide to pursue in the medical field may it be a good journey. Any Questions?