FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. – The latest class of future combat medics is nearing completion of the 68W Healthcare Specialist Military Occupational Specialty Transition course at the Pennsylvania National Guard's 166th Regiment - Regional Training Institute.
The 68W Healthcare Military Occupational Specialty Transition course is a 59-day course conducted by instructors at the 166th Regional Training Institute Medical Battalion Training Site that prepares Soldiers transitioning from other military occupational specialties to become a combat medic.
The course takes students through three phases that culminate in a final event on the last day of training, during which they participate in simulated combat scenarios, including a mass-casualty event.
“In the culminating event, we put them in as high of a fidelity simulation as we can and have them actually practice these skills that they’ve been training to do,” said Staff Sgt. Caden Schultheis, a 68W course instructor with the 4th Battalion, 166th Regional Training Institute.
During phase 1, students complete the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians course, earning national registration as an EMT.
During phase 2, students transition into the 68W Military Occupational Specialty Transition course, where they are introduced to a "sick call" and a limited primary care setting.
They are then transitioned to phase 3, where they are trained in field medicine and practice on-the-line care.
“Learning everything that it takes to be a certified national EMT in three weeks, that was the most challenging part of it,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Hodson of the 728th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. “Once we got past phase one, we actually started getting more hands on.”
Hodson explained his admiration for the course and the knowledge it has given him. He said this course was the most challenging throughout his 18 years in the Army.
“I can't say anything but great things about my experience in the course,” Hodson said. “It was challenging, and completely applicable.”
"We [combat medics] prepare you in ways that others don’t,” Schultheis said. “We're learning all sorts of different stuff when we get to our duty station, in addition to all the medical knowledge that will accrue. So, I would say it's the best I've ever been in the Army, and it's really worth the effort.”