Transcript
Speaker: Vietnam War Medic, currently works as a Pastor in Bronx, NY
Let me put it this way when they yelled, “Medic,” you better go, because you don't know if the bullet is going to come from behind. You had to go when they call for help. It's uh…It’s a very serious situation, man, I tell you.
Speaker: Retired Combat Medic, served in the United States Army 1992-2014, resides in the North Country, NY
Necessity is the mother of invention right? We were rapidly trying to adjust and react to the losses of limb and life. I joined the Army in 1992, so the early nineties. The uniforms that we were wearing and the equipment that we were wearing changed significantly over the next 22 years. We only had a field dressing on your equipment. That was your first aid that every soldier would carry. After 9/11 and the war on terrorism breaking out in both Iraq and Afghanistan, that one singular bandage proved very inadequate, and there were many advances made that turned into what became known as the IFAK or Individual First Aid Kit.
Speaker: Served as a Physician Assistant in two tours to Afghanistan (2009-2010) and Kuwait (2013-2014), Currently works as the Medical Standards Officer and Aeromedical Physician Assistant, New York Army National Guard’s Office of the State Surgeon and resides in New York’s Capital Region
If I could put a top three of things that made all the difference, the IFAK has got to be in the top three. It's one of those things besides a weapon every last person had on them after, say, 2005 in theater.
Speaker: Retired Combat Medic, served in the United States Army 1992-2014, resides in the North Country, NY
You know, but the truth is, no matter how much training you do, you never really know if you're… how you're going to react until it happens, because in the end, you don't know until the moment arises.
But, you know, you have a job to do. You have a duty to act. You've been trained and you trained, trained, trained, trained, trained and the moment is upon you. You're either going to fight back or curl up in a little ball. Those are your choices. You know what I mean? One is not very productive. The other is in the vein of being a military medic. You're trained for a very special thing, and now it's time.