Special Forces Medical Sergeant (18D)
- Enlisted
- Active Duty
- Closed to Women
Special Forces Teams are among the most specialized combat forces in the Army. They experience rigorous mental and physical training in order to carry out their missions in a quick and extremely effective manner. The Special Forces Medical Sergeant is a crucial member of this team and must be ready to perform a variety of tasks anywhere in the world on a moment’s notice.
Special Forces Soldiers in the Army will conduct offensive raids, demolitions, intelligence, search and rescue and other missions from air, land or sea. Special Forces Medical Sergeants are considered to be the finest first-response/trauma medical technicians in the world. Though they’re primarily trained with an emphasis on trauma medicine, they also have a working knowledge of dentistry, veterinary care, public sanitation, water quality and optometry.
Some of your duties as a Special Forces Medical Sergeant may include:
- Ensuring detachment medical preparation
- Maintaining medical equipment and supplies
- Providing examination and care to detachment members
- Providing initial medical screening and evaluation of allied and indigenous personnel
- Instructing and performing land and water navigation duties
- Ordering, storing, cataloging and safeguarding medical supplies
- Supervising medical care and treatment during missions
- Operating a combat laboratory and treating emergency and trauma patients
- Developing and providing medical intelligence as required
Requirements:
Special Operations Forces have very demanding physical requirements. Good eyesight, night vision, and physical conditioning are required to reach mission objectives via parachute, land or water. Also required is excellent hand-eye coordination to detonate or deactivate explosives. In most instances, Special Operations Forces Team Members are required to be qualified divers, parachutists and endurance runners.
Training:
Due to the wide variety of missions, Special Operations Medical Sergeants are trained swimmers, paratroopers and survival experts, as well as trained in many forms of combat. Training for the Special Operations Medical Sergeant consists of 60 weeks of formal classroom training and practice exercises. Some of the skills you’ll learn are:
- Physical conditioning, parachuting, swimming and scuba diving
- Using land warfare weapons and communications devices
- Handling and using explosives
- Bomb and mine disposal
Helpful Skills:
Helpful attributes include:
- Ability to work as a team member
- Readiness to accept a challenge and face danger
- Ability to stay in top physical condition
- Interest in medicine and science
- Ability to remain calm in stressful situations
