Welcome to the WWII Forums! Log in or Sign up to interact with the community.

US Army Company Aid man Resources?

Discussion in 'Living History' started by SoftTofu, Jan 7, 2019.

  1. SoftTofu

    SoftTofu New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2019
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    2
    I've seen the term "first aid man" and "company aid man" both be used. Anyway, I am looking for resources that detail what sorts of wounds US army combat medics were expected to be able to treat or stabilize and how they were instructed to go about it.

    Thank you
     
  2. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2008
    Messages:
    18,246
    Likes Received:
    5,669
  3. USMCPrice

    USMCPrice Idiot at Large

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2009
    Messages:
    5,168
    Likes Received:
    2,140
    Location:
    God's Country
    OP be aware, the first manual in Opana's link, Basic Field Manual, First Aid for Soldiers, doesn't directly address your question because the information in it is the level of training that all soldiers/Marines received. Any rifleman, tanker, truck driver, cook, radioman, etc. should be able to perform the tasks described in the manual.The medic would have additional training over and above what is shown in the manual.
    There are additional medical manuals listed further down and once I have had a chance to peruse them I'll be able to which might be applicable to a field medics training.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2019
  4. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2008
    Messages:
    18,246
    Likes Received:
    5,669
    HM3 Ho would have been mad if I hadn't posted that link.
     
  5. SoftTofu

    SoftTofu New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2019
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    2
    Yeah, I had the same issue with the manual. The closest I have come is a manual for the hospital corpsman and so I was wondering if the army had a similar manual for the medical department.
     
  6. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2008
    Messages:
    18,246
    Likes Received:
    5,669
    As our resident jarhead says, there are several others there. You may also want to snoop around at CMH and NHHC.
     
  7. SoftTofu

    SoftTofu New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2019
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    2
  8. RichTO90

    RichTO90 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2015
    Messages:
    2,562
    Likes Received:
    1,036
  9. SoftTofu

    SoftTofu New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 7, 2019
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    2
    Digital Collections - National Library of Medicine

    This is the "Instructors' guide for Medical Department Mobilization Training Program 8-1: for medical units or installations and Medical Department technicians"

    The guide describes the periods, subjects, and resources that were taught or used in training. Medical Aid starts at Pg 273
     
    Otto and OpanaPointer like this.
  10. LRusso216

    LRusso216 Graybeard Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 5, 2009
    Messages:
    14,288
    Likes Received:
    2,605
    Location:
    Pennsylvania
  11. CAC

    CAC Ace of Spades

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2010
    Messages:
    9,503
    Likes Received:
    3,037
    You see in old films the medic stab a syringe into a wounded man...my understanding the syringe is Morphine...given the incidences of addiction and what (non military) addicts would do to get their hands on this, does the military still use Morphine? How well is it stored?
     
  12. lwd

    lwd Ace

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2007
    Messages:
    12,322
    Likes Received:
    1,245
    Location:
    Michigan
    A friend of mine had an interesting "experience" with it in Vietnam so the US was still using it then. A single shot or even a number if you are in serious pain probably won't get you addicted. Something you'd want to store under lock and key though.
     
  13. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer I Point at Opana Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2008
    Messages:
    18,246
    Likes Received:
    5,669
    Opiods are used still. Access to them is restricted, of course.
    Yep, over-use will get that monkey on your back.

    On the gripping hand, six of them real quick will make passing easier.
     
  14. RichTO90

    RichTO90 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2015
    Messages:
    2,562
    Likes Received:
    1,036
    Yes, although the fentanyl "lollipop" is supplanting it. All such drugs are strictly controlled by regulation, but abuses of course occur.
     
  15. USMCPrice

    USMCPrice Idiot at Large

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2009
    Messages:
    5,168
    Likes Received:
    2,140
    Location:
    God's Country
    Yes morphine is still used, but it has been augmented by several other options based upon newer medications and a better understanding of how said medications effect the casualty. Morphine used to be primarily administered intramuscularly (IM) which is what you are referring to when a wounded soldier was stabbed by a morphine syrette in a large muscle group. It is now found to be more efficacious to administer the morphine intravenously.
    Now, for mild to moderate pain without hemorrhagic or pulmonary complications where it is desirable for the casualty to retain his sensory and remaining functional abilities a CWMP (Combat Wound Medication Packet) is administered orally. It consists of 15mg of Meloxicam, an NSAID medication that does not inhibit platelet formation; 2 x 650mg Acetaminophen extended release tablets (1300mg total dose) q8h.
    For moderate to severe pain where hemorrhagic shock or respiratory collapse is not a risk factor, transmucosal Fentanyl Citrate 800mcg in lozenge form (OTFC). It is rapid onset and moderately long acting. Where hypovolemic shock or pulmonary distress make administration of OTFC contraindicated, Ketamine or morphine are the drugs of choice, ketamine being the new option. Originally, when Ketamine was introduced as an alternative, it was contraindicated for head injuries due to fear of increased intracranial pressure. That has since been obviated as a concern with additional studies of battlefield trauma. Increased intraocular pressure is also a concern when related to eye wounds, and ketamine's relationship to schizophrenia is still being studied.
    Morphine administration is still the predominant drug used by the field medic when treating the casualty at point of injury (POI). Ketamine and OTFC are the main drug used during evacuation, primarily by flight medics.
     
    CAC and Carronade like this.
  16. Carronade

    Carronade Ace

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2010
    Messages:
    3,278
    Likes Received:
    846
    I recall reading that the medic would write an M on the man's forehead so others in the evac process would know he'd been given morphine and not overdose him (I guess they must have been issued some kind of marker).
     
    CAC likes this.
  17. lwd

    lwd Ace

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2007
    Messages:
    12,322
    Likes Received:
    1,245
    Location:
    Michigan
    My friend I referenced above apparently got a medic or two without markers. He got something in his eye (they think it was a fragment from a mortar round the previous day. He didn't notice it when he got it but the next morning it was causing him some considerable pain and discomfort. The medic gave him a shot and they medevacked him. Then he got another shot on the copter. I'm forgetting all the details but may have gotten another shot or to of morphine by the time he got the aid station/hospital where they removed the fragment. Afterward he had a very vivid nightmare (they were getting over run) and when he was woken up by a medic he found his hands around said medics throat. For the rest of his stay there they woke him by wiggling one of his toes. He never had another such reaction or any drug problems.
     

Share This Page