Talking About Today's Military: When did the USA stop using non-combatant medics on the front line?
When did the USA stop using non-combatant medics on the front line?
While it is true that in most of the 20th Century conflicts the United State fought in medics were not armed or participated in actual fighting, the nature of the enemy and how military medical personnel are treated by the enemy have changed.
In World War II, for instance, most of the belligerents were signatories of The Hague Convention, which laid out the rules governing the treatment of combatants and non-combatants during times of war. Even Nazi Germany adhered to those rules in most cases, with the notable exception of how the Third Reich treated Jews and Soviet prisoners of war. (The Soviet Union and Japan were not signatories, so their record on how they treated prisoners was not exactly laudable.
One of the many rules of war that most of the warring nations observed was that medical personnel did not carry weapons and had to wear distinguishing brassards or helmet insignia that bore the Red Cross or the Red Crescent (if applicable). Both sides (Axis and Allies) were bound by these rules, although both also sometimes ignored the Red Cross and violated the Articles of War.
For instance, the Germans were incensed that Royal Air Force fighters sometimes shot down Luftwaffe search and rescue planes that flew over the English Channel and looked for German fliers whose planes had gone down in the water. The RAF, in turn, accused the Germans of violating the rules for displaying the Red Cross because the SAR planes were suspected of radioing the position of British shipping in the Channel to Luftwaffe HQ so that Stukas and other German bombers could attack the convoys before they reached their destination.
But for the most part, despite isolated cases of troops firing at the enemy’s medics in the heat of battle, medics on both sides during the war in the Western Front were usually not fired at deliberately. (On the Eastern Front and in the Pacific, where World War II was at its most savage, medics were not as lucky.)
In 1949, several new treaties (four in all) were signed by most of the world’s nation-states, including the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan, in Geneva, Switzerland. Among the many issues in the Geneva Conventions: the non-combatant status of military medics.
In most of the wars fought since World War II, when the fighting involved professional armies against their counterparts, medics were considered to be “hands-off” by all combatants. Of course, medical personnel were still sometimes killed or wounded by stray bombs or indirect artillery fire, but most professional militaries adhere to the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said when modern armies find themselves fighting against terrorists, insurgents, or heavily armed criminal organizations (such as Mexican drug gangs or Colombia’s Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia).
These adversaries do not abide by the Geneva Conventions, nor do they respect the non-combatant status of military medics. As early as the Vietnam War, guerrilla groups and terror organizations have shown no respect toward the Red Cross/Red Crescent and have shot down medevac helicopters and fired at medics who are trying to give aid to their wounded comrades.
Army combat medics aren't just trained to save lives in a combat zone; they're also trained soldiers. In addition to emergency medical training, combat medics go through the same basic combat training as all other soldiers, and they have the basic combat skills to protect themselves if under enemy fire. For example, while trying to treat a wounded soldier, a combat medic will need to rely on those field skills to avoid mines and other hidden explosive devices, as well as basic soldiering techniques such as how to enter and exit buildings or open spaces safely.
Combat medics also receive the same basic weapons training as every other soldier. Does this mean they carry weapons? Yes, they do. While medics historically didn't carry weapons, today's combat medics are not only trained to fight, but are allowed to defend themselves if they come under attack, usually at short range and usually in response to a surprise attack while attending to or evacuating a wounded patient.
Why the change? Although the Geneva Conventions protect medical personnel, not all enemies respect the doctrine, and both doctors and medics have found themselves targets on the battlefield. The white armband with a red cross -- the Geneva Convention brassard -- is worn by medical team personnel when they're searching for, treating and evacuating wounded or sick soldiers. Once worn by all medical team personnel, the Geneva Convention brassard has been downplayed in recent wars to decrease the visibility of active medical teams. And since they have often become targets, all medical personnel carry a pistol or service rifle (M-16) at all times, to be used for self-defense only.
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