Help with direction

[blukaman]

I'm 20 years old, about to get my EMT certification for Colorado. My ultimate goal is to become a paramedic. Here's my question: Would the Air National Guard be a good option to work as an EMT while pursuing my goal?

I'm torn and I can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone. I know this question has probably been asked many times before, but if anyone could help me out (especially those who did what I'm thinking about doing) it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[usafmedic45]

Would the Air National Guard be a good option to work as an EMT while pursuing my goal?

Do you mind having your pursuit of your goal interrupted repeatedly by lengthy deployments to Iraq or places that end in "-stan"? Seriously, you'd be better off working at a Starbucks or playing raisin hockey on a BLS transport ambulance. The pay is better at either too and if you don't like the working conditions, you can quit.


BTW, just to be clear, the USAF/ANG "EMT" (the medical technician, 4N0X1 was the AFSC last time I bothered to check) doesn't really do EMS in the traditional sense, especially in a non-deployed setting.

 

[blukaman]

I thought the ANG was deployed much less frequently than regular AF. I know in principal they're not supposed to be deployed outside of the US at all, but I thought they were less than regular forces.. I figured it was a weekend a month, deployed only in emergencies. Am I being naive in believing this?

 

[usafmedic45]

I thought the ANG was deployed much less frequently than regular AF.

Rule #1: Trust nothing that comes out of the mouth of a recruiter.

The joke when I was active duty about ANG was "Air National Guard: The new active duty". It really depends upon the career field. One of the most frequently deployed units in the Air Force for several years was the 181st Fighter Squadron (now combined with another unit and relocated) which was an Air National Guard unit. If they need you, you're going regardless of whether you're reserve, guard or active duty.

I figured it was a weekend a month, deployed only in emergencies

LOL Not even close. That's a recruiting ploy to get people to sign up for "easy" money for college.

Am I being naive in believing this?

Incredibly so.

 

[LucidResq]

The joke when I was active duty about ANG was "Air National Guard: The new active duty".

Believe what the man says, they're getting hit as hard and occasionally harder than our active duty folks from everything I've heard & seen.

(PS: raisin hockey?! LOVE IT)

What kind of medic do you want to be? If you want to be a civilian... stay that way. Work for a company out here and save up some money for medic school.

The only reason I'd consider the military to become a medic is if you're willing to sacrifice 4+ years of your life so that you'll be a better candidate for a firefighter position. You could do the 5-10 year plan... join the military, get on a fire dept (hopefully, military experience does make you much more competitive though) when you come back, and make them pay for your paramedic (which depts commonly do out here in CO) and start making bank as a FF/medic... or you can pay the upfront cost of $6,000 or so and 6 mo. - 2 years of your life, get your medic, and work at a FD or elsewhere. You earn it back pretty fast and you don't have to sign your life away.

 

[joeshmoe]

As a medic in the military, you arent exactly going to "work as an EMT". I cant really speak about the guard or reserves. I wasnt a medic either. But as far as what I observed for active duty medics. When in garrison they basically sat around in a clinic, sort of like a doctors office, and saw military personnel for whatever complaints, injuries, illnesses, or malingering they went to sick call for.

During training you will standby in case somebody is injured, maybe deal with the occasional heat casualty, occasional broken bone or joint injury. You'll be the duty expert on stuff like field sanitation and hygeine.

About the only time youd be likely to practice something approaching emergency medicine is if you're deployed. Even then it might depend on what type of unit you deploy with. You might just end up doing pretty much what you do in garrison in the states, only youd be stuck on base all the time.

Oh yeah, then theres the chance you could get killed or maimed for life. The civilian rules of scene safety arent gonna apply.

Again I was a jarhead not a medic, so I cant say for certainty what youd be doing. To us corpsman rarely seemed to DO much of anything lol

 

[ExpatMedic0]

I work with a guy who was a PJ in the air guard, correct me if I am wrong but PJ's are trained to the NREMT-P level and beyond.
However they are spec ops and I am sure the wash out rate is pretty high. USAF could probably provide further information regarding this. You would also be deploying all the time.

 

[usafmedic45]

I am sure the wash out rate is pretty high

Exceptionally high. One of my friends was a PJ and out of his class the graduation rate was 11% for the indoctrination (initial) course. Most of the washouts were due to injuries or failing PT tests from what he told me. He said that something like 8% of the original group made it all the way through the training "pipeline". I've also seen the pass rate reported (for the indoc course) at up to 25% but my friend reports it usually is less than that.

You would also be deploying all the time.

You also have to be very comfortable with killing people and blowing stuff up. It's a common misconception that PJs are simply rescue swimmers and flight paramedics. They are the tip of the combat search and rescue spear (if you're stuck somewhere behind enemy lines, you want them coming to get you), emphasis on combat. They may be medics, but they are more than willing to kill to save the lives of those whom they are charged with protecting.