Commando Medic

Eric Harden was the only British army medic to be awarded the nation’s highest honour for battlefield bravery during the Second World War and remains the only rank and file member of the Royal Army Medical Corps to be recognised by the award of the Victoria Cross. As a pre-war member of the St John Ambulance, he saw service during the 1940-41 Blitz and later volunteered for the Commandos, under-going the same rigorous training as the fighting men before being attached to 45 Royal Marine Commando. He landed with his unit on D-Day and was involved in some of the fiercest fighting of the Normandy campaign. During a bitter battle on the Dutch-German border, Harden, known throughout his unit as Doc, was killed saving the lives of wounded men trapped in no-man’s land.Commenting on the posthumous award in a speech to the House of Commons, the Secretary of State for War, the Rt Hon James Grigg was sufficiently moved by his selfless actions to say: “I do not remember ever reading anything more heroic.”

The Combat Medic of today is the most technically advanced ever produced by the United States Army. Such an advanced technician requires an advanced teaching and learning system. 68W Advanced Field Craft is the first textbook designed to prepare the Combat Medic for today’s challenges in the field. The ability to save lives in war, conflicts, and humanitarian inventions requires a specific skill set. Today’s Combat Medic must be an expert in emergency medical care, force health protection, limited primary care, evacuation, and warrior skills. 68W Advanced Field Craft combines complete medical content with dynamic features to support instructors and to prepare Combat Medics for their missions.

The ability to save lives in war, conflicts, and humanitarian interventions requires sophisticated skills above and beyond first aid. Today's Combat Medic must be an expert in emergency care, force health protection, limited primary care, and warrior skills. The Combat Medic Field Reference provides easy access to essential information on triage, treatment, and US Army procedures. This handy pocket-sized reference features waterproof pages for making temporary or permanent notes.

Patrick Thibeault has served in the US Army in various capacities since the 1990s, originally training as an Airborne soldier before specialising as a combat medic. My Journey as a Combat Medic covers his original training and deployment before providing a look at the roles he's since played in the US Army's forces, including his recent deployment to Afghanistan. It is a no-holds bar look at the modern medic in the US Army, allowing us a glimpse at the training as a soldier and as a specialist, as well as deployment and front line duties and the impact of service on civilian life, including an honest look at PTSD, from the author's own personal experience. Rather than a technical manual, My Journey as a Combat Medic is a detailed first hand account, concluding with a letter to new medics, providing a career's worth of advice and knowledge as they begin their journeys.

HE GAVE MEN A FIGHTING CHANCE... TO SURVIVE Dan Evans arrived in Vietnam on October 7, 1968, a 21- year-old Army medic who couldn't stand the sight of blood. Thrust into the cauldron of combat, he soon became a seasoned veteran of emergency medicine and the brutal realties of war. Before his time was up, he would master the skills of a surgeon, acquire the patience of a saint, and demonstrate the courage of a lion... Here, in his own words, is the gripping true story of Dan Evans, the highly decorated soldier whom the men of First Platoon, Bravo Company, called the "fighting medic." Experience the rage, the sorrow and the remarkable spirit of Dan Evans - the PLATOON MEDIC who became a true American hero.

A combat medic reconciles his roles as a soldier, healer, and man of faith in a time of war

The is the recollection of combat in Europe during World War II of then naive, nineteen-year-old Army medic Robert L. Smith, responsible for saving the lives of severely wounded GIs under the worst possible conditions. The author recounts his journey of remembrance, which he took with his wife half a century later. Using a hand-drawn map from the war, Smith retraced his route with the 112th Regiment, 28th Infantry Division from Omaha Beach in Normandy to deep into Germany. Recounting his experiences on the front, Smith captures the trauma of a young man's survival in war. In the chronicle of his trip back to old battlegrounds, he illuminates his experiences with the wise perspective of age.

Gritty, harrowing and full of courage, a testimony to the men and woman from the council estates of Britain who lived and died in the longest campaign the British Army has fought in decades a must read for any politician. AR retired Warrant Officer 1st Class 22 SAS Chantelle Taylor joined the British Army in 1998 as a combat medical technician. Ten years later she made history, becoming the first female soldier to kill a Taliban fighter in close-quarter combat while on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. In Battleworn, she tells the story of B Company, a beleaguered group of individuals who fought relentlessly to hold Nad-e Ali, a dusty, sweltering hellhole surrounded by the Taliban. A routine patrol into an area saturated with enemy fighters escalates into a seven-week siege. Facing the possibility of death daily, Taylor writes of gun battles and perilous patrols, culminating in the extraction of more than sixty-six casualties with four killed in action. A powerful story written with a humility that captures the sometimes impalpable humour of soldiers at war, Battleworn provides a testament to combat medics all over the world. It highlights the crucial role that they play in todays 360-degree battlefield.