IamA US Army veteran combat medic of the Iraq war. AMA!

What's one thing that will always be in the back of your mind? Anything from basic training/serving/civvie life.

Watching blood bubbles being coughed up from a live human being, I will never EVER forget that.

Oh fuck. What did you expect to see out there before your basic training finished? Not trying to be a dick, just curious.

I didn't know what to expect. I was trained for nearly every possible circumstance and had no idea what I was in for.

Also I had my 20th birthday while in Iraq, if that means anything.

Holy shit, I'm 22 and I really don't see myself being a soldier in some war on the other side of the planet, fuck that. Let alone two years ago....

How do you feel about the iraq war now that iraq knowing what state it is in now, after the us left?

This is a personal thought which I will share with you, and it holds absolutely no credible value of any sort: If we had never invaded Iraq, it would still be under the iron fist of the same person we (the US) put into power in the first place, and would still be functioning as it were before we invaded. There was absolutely no reason to go there and the reason which was given was proven to be a lie. I hate knowing that I was involved in such a tragedy.

No question, I just wanted to thank you for your service.

Not trying to be a dick, as a non american I cringe every time I read this, do the soldiers actually appreciate this type of thing, surely there's a lot that come back with a different understanding of how pointless and money scheming war is.

As a civilian, I have no idea if it actually helps the people we thank. A lot of times we understand that a lot of the wars, battles, armed engagements, skirmishes, etc, are people being sent to die for some old dudes financial interests. While we may not know the soldier personally, we wish them luck in life while they still have it

Thank you.

Would you do it again?

No. A million times over no.

What are you think about Iraq?

I think that it was an unfair situation for everyone and I do not agree with the circumstance.

So you think you shouldnt have been there?

I do not think we as an army should have been there, no.

I think iraq was/is a beautiful and mysterious place.

Why does your link lead to no video?

My apologies, didn't notice this. Thank you. E: fixed

No worries and thank you for your service. I hope you have a good AMA! Heres an upvote for you. im a fellow service member (usaf), i hope you did as much good as you could while there. Have you been diagnosed with PTSD? If so what helps you the most, i.e. prescriptions, family, painting, etc.?

I have indeed been diagnosed with PTSD, and have found the only relief to be from marijuana. After being prescribed multiple pharmaceutical drugs, I can only say that medical marijuana has been the only drug that has helped this situation.

Ive heard that from several other combat vets, and i am hopeful that one day the VA will be allowed to dispense marijuana. Cheers brother.

Many thanks. I really appreciate it.

Have you considered a service dog or had that as an option? And/or what's your opinion on service dogs helping military personnel cope with PTSD?

I had a dog but had to give her up due to my lack of income/housing situation.

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I don't talk to my mother and father anymore. They are so far separated from reality it isn't even funny. My mom has some serious codependency issues and my dad is a religious nutcase.

Did they have an influence on your decision to sign up to the military as your career?

Yes. My father was a huey medivac pilot for over 20 years. Brainwashing is a hell of a thing.

Did you ever talk or interact with soldiers from other countries that were also stationed there (e.g UK, Australia etc.) and if so did you get well along with them?

Yes! British and Aussie for the most part, but also I had a Saudi terp living on the bunk below me, which was interesting to say the least. He made some bomb ass coffee though.

Haha sounds interesting. Had a friend serve in Kosovo, and he said all the nationalities tended to sometimes hang out together, playing poker and such, was that the case with you or were the bases more country secluded?

I played so many games of spades, I consider myself a pro :P

My father and brother in law were in the Army. I myself was in the Navy. My brother in law gets really bored here at home every since he was discharged. He sometimes wants to re-enlist again just so he can be in a familiar place again. I am glad as hell I got out and sometimes miss some things. Do you ever feel like re-enlisting?

Absolutely not.

Are there any less well-known basic first-aid techniques that you would recommend people learn?

What additional techniques and equipment would you recommend for anyone (perhaps protesters, reporters or photographers) heading into a relatively high-risk situation?

Thanks.

If you really want to know, just having some basic stop the bleeding knowledge could seriously save someone's life someday. No joke.

Thank you for your service! Iraqi Kurds are grateful for your efforts and sacrifices.

Have you been to Kurdistan while you were in Iraq? What did you think of the people / place?

I spent most my time in a humvee on the road going from Tikrit to Mosul to Baghdad and back to Tikrit. Convoys suck :/

I forgot to mention I too was a medic, I'm just trying to figure out when my former MOS transitioned from 91W to whatever it is now?

Somewhere shortly after I got back, so mid 2008 or so.

How did you learn to cope with your experience? I have a friend who has been back from Afghanistan for over a year, and his experience as a combat medic has left him completely fucked up.

I'm still trying to get better. 3 of the 8 medics I deployed with have committed suicide.

What do you do now? Are you still in the army? Do you have a different job?

I work at whole foods and a head shop and I've never been happier!

From one vet to another, thank you for your service. I feel ya, spent a year and a half in the sandbox, dinged my 23rd there. Since you were there a while after I was, here is my question:

What was your impression of the Iraqi people?

In my experience, most were very nice and hospitable, or really didn't give a crap that we were there, since it didn't really affect their lives. The only ones that occasionally had issues were the ones the military directly affected (i.e. family member was insurgent = house raided). Then again, I think anyone would be pissed if they broke down my door and messed up my house...

I love the iraqi people! They are extremely humble and the children are very sweet. I also enjoy their food very much :)

Can you send the mods a copy of the dd-214 for verification?

I most certainly can.

How did you become a medic ? Was it hard to get into ?

I took the asvab and scored very well. Then my parents chose medic for me. I was 17 and they cosigned me in.

Becoming a medic is like becoming any other enlisted job. You take an aptitude test, they give you a list of jobs you qualify for, you pick one and sign a contract. Then you go off to training for 5-24 months and have that job upon completion.

Wait, so no gun shooting training with the Sergeant bellowing in your year that you are useless?

You still go to Basic Training for two months where you'll get the Drill Sergeant yelling at you before you head to Fort Sam Houston.

Drill sergeants were in Fort Sam as well, and they didn't hesitate to yell as much as possible.

Do you think the (unofficial) wars in Iraq and Afganistan have made the U.S. safer or not? And did you sense that a majority of the soldiers you worked with agreed with you?

Safer? I think that's a pretty hard to answer question. I still feel very safe in my home but safer? No.

Hey man, as a new medic who is deploying in August what kind of training/medicine should I focus on for it? Thanks ahead of time for your service brother.

Focus on being yourself, and keep yourself safe at all times. Do not rush into anything without taking time to think about your own body first. BE SAFE.

Has your medic training translated to any useful civilian certifications that have help you find work?

I was able to get a job in a VA hospital as a phlebotomist shortly after getting back. I kept the job for three years before it became too much to handle. PTSD within myself and all around me everyday at work was just too much.

I enlisted as a 68W back in December, I ship off July 1st for basic and AIT, any tips or advice?

Yes. Stay away from junk food. And save your money.

Did your personal experience change your politics? (like, left to right, or right to left)… Or do you not care much about politics?

I hate politics.

Did you ever meet the locals and make friends with them?

I did, and after giving some people medical treatment or just some simple ibuprofen, they warm right up to you. Very kind people.

Just out of curiosity, what was your mos at the time? I left in mid 2004 and i was still a 91W

I was changed into a 68w shortly after I returned from Iraq.

What's the food like?

MREs were a staple and chow in the DFAC (dining facility) was pretty much awful. Basic foods will keep you going for a long time, though.

We allways see in television that the united states develops a lot of futuristic military technology like the laser cannon. Are those inventions actually being used in wars? What was the most interesting piece of technology that your army has at disposition?

I didn't see anything too futuristic, mainly just a bunch of shit blowing up in the middle of the road with no way of knowing before it happened.

What unit were you with?

I was with 1st AD

Ahh I was hoping we might've crossed paths before. We (2ID) moved in right after you guys left iirc.

Good times.

I was stationed on COB Speicher if that means anything to you :)

How much medical capability do you really have in the field? Are you really fixing people up or is most of the field medic work damage control until someone can be gotten to a medical facility?

The most time I spent on a single individual was around 10 minutes. I always dealt with mass casualties as every incident was the result of an IED. Unless you want to know about the stuff I did on base, which consisted mostly of handing out simple medications.

Do we still have troops in combat on a regular basis or is the fighting generally left to special operations at this point?

Are you referring to iraq?

That entire region. Do we still have troops that regularly see combat? Or is that pretty much behind us? aka, if I were to join the military, what are the odds of me being in a firefight?

I honestly cannot say, but I will say that joining the army or any branch of the military which is a combat essential will most likely ensure that you will be deployed at some point. Seeing action though, I can't say yay or nay.

Hello, thanks for the AMA! I was wondering what made you become a medic? Were you assigned it or did you get to choose it over infantryman?

I was 17 when I was signed in, and my parents cosigned. Basically my dad chose it for me.

Do you think the US and all allied forces should withdraw from the Middle East entirely, or do you think their presence there is still required?

Cheers for your service, if you ever find yourself in Australia let us know and I'll shout you a pint

I'll be honest here...what I think doesn't matter. If I had it my way, we would all be home, enjoying our lives with our families. Not over in a different country stealing their oil. Just my two cents.

Would you ever consider re-enlisting?

What was the food like?

How friendly were the people, or did you not have much exposure to them?

How was the overall experience while over there?

No. The food was either MRE or standard meals like chicken, macaroni, potatoes, greens, fish, etc. The locals were extremely nice, though, and their food was delicious. Also I couldn't wait to get back. Iraq made me feel very unsafe.

Do you ever have regrets about joining up?

Yes, but nothing can change that now so I deal with it.

I'm about to join up. At 26 I'm nervous I'm doing the right thing. Do you have any advice?

Make sure you are ready to be surrounded by a lot of ignorance. I cannot tell you how many idiots are in the military, but if you can find yourself a good friend to hang around, DO IT.

Any first aid tips you can give us civies?

I've heard a lot of new "trauma medicine" lessons were learned in Iraq.

Tampons can be useful in trauma situations but to be honest, just call 911 and let the professionals handle the situation. If you know someone needs CPR, do it. If you don't know what you are doing, just wait for the ambulance. No need to endanger someone's life further if you don't know what you are doing.

What's your thoughts on the huge American military presence that floods reddit every day?

Send them home? Lol I have no idea what you mean

What's up doc? Current motorpool clerk here. I know a lot of what happens depends on on your unit. We've had some bad training accidents. Did you find your unit to be a problem before you deployed, or was it just the PTSD?

My unit was very cohesive and the bad apple or two were sent home before we even left the states.

What was an unexpected difference between your deployment and the depiction of war in video games and movies?

I had a lot more down time that I expected. Not that I was bored or anything, but having 6 hours to recoup became the most valuable 6 hours in my life.

May sound silly but, as a combat medic what was your primary role? Were you on patrols with squads or positioned in a base at a trauma centre?

Not silly at all. I was a medic assigned to a unit which ran convoys every day or every other day. Always on the road.

Did you/Do you watch MASH (TV Series) ?

What do you think about its applicability to your situation? Esp on procurement, etc?

I've never watched the show but i'm sure there are tidbits of information that may be applicable.

What was the main differences between being a medic in the 2000-era Iraq than a medic in WWII, Korea, or Vietnam?

Couldn't tell you. I was born in 1987 so I really can't answer that any better than, say, Wikipedia can.

Not sure if you've been asked yet, but what was it like coming back after seeing the things you undoubtedly saw? Was there the strange itch that something trying to harm you was, possibly, still lurking around the next corner? IF so, how did you adjust to not having to think such?

Also, when you were in the thick of the shit, what kind of things went through your mind?

Thank you in advance, and thank you for serving, sir.

I cannot say that I was "on edge" as though some "thing" was going to get me, however, I am still extremely observant of my surroundings and can't let my guard down for a second. While I was on missions, my asshole was tighter than a knot because IEDs were pretty much everywhere and nothing felt safe on the road. NOTHING.

How often do you find yourself using your training in civilian life? Not just the medical stuff, but the general situational-awareness stuff.

I was a 19D who never served in battle, and (of course) I've never had to set up a blind OP since, but damned if I don't regularly have the "Spidey senses tingling" when dealing with people / situations that have me at a disadvantage.

Let's just say I carry a knife everywhere I go.

How does your method of triage work? Have you ever been in a situation of multiple casualties?

Yes, the most casualties I dealt with at one time was 6. As the only medic on scene, I had to quickly look over each person to decide who was in the most critical condition, and go from there.

What would you say to a 17 year old potentially wanting to join the military?

Join the Coast Guard if you must join the military.

Was it fun killing innocent civilians? Did u find the WMD you were looking for?

I didn't kill anyone nor was I looking for anything. You're an idiot.

did you kill anyone? combat medics probably don't kill people idk plz dont downvote if im wrong.

No I didn't kill anyone. Watched people breathe their last breath, though. And that is much worse in my eyes.