Hello and my introduction

[usaf-vet]

46. Welcome DemMedic. Always glad to hear from "new medics" on DU.

I am a former USAF medic who served during the Vietnam Era.

Retired going on ten years. Still, hang out with local EMS service folks.

I lobby every chance I get with elected officials to ease the path for military combat medics into civilian emergency service WITHOUT having to start back at square one.

"Welcome to your two-year training program to learn how to save lives.

Back to square one, "the human body has 206 bones."

There are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of military skill sets. In the USAF, they were called AFCS in the Army MOS.
A large majority of these translate well in civilian jobs. But not all.

When I left the USAF, my AFCS... Operating Room Scrub Tech did not translate into a civilian job without starting over with "This is a Kelly clamp; this a retractor." I need to raise a family with a steady income.

Sadly, many small rural communities are desperate for trained "medics." And the supply is sparse. And yet they turn away skilled military medics as unqualified.

Maybe someday, that will change.