national guard medic question

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mbfish3117

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i am currently working to get my emt-b. done in march. ive been researching the national guard medic program. my end game is to become a firefighter so the service would help. a recruiter told me in passing that medics arent infantry. does anyone know what i would be? also if i am deployed can anyone tell me what to expect? just trying to get background before i make any decisions. any advice on getting onto a fire department would be greatly apprecated too. thanks!
 
Oh, sweet child. You have opened Pandora s box.

It really depends on the unit and their mission as to what you will be doing, what their expectations are and what you actually do. Doubly so for the guard.
 
you are going a real round about way to become a firefighter.
 
... Or you could, ya know, just become a firefighter.
 
I could just become a firefighter. But the next civil service test isn't until 2016 and most place in ma require emt so I'm just getting a jump start on that. I was just curious about the National Guard thing
 
Your recruiter is speaking the truth when he says military service is beneficial. Those veteran preference points can make the difference in scoring, with all other factors equal.

And being an EMT is also helpful.

However, if you're really set on being a firefighter, that's the path to follow.

Paul Lepore's books have helped a lot of people get that firefighter job. If you haven't seen this site yet, take a look here:
http://aspiringfirefighters.com
 
thank you theres a lot of really useful stuff on that site. i have no other interest than firefighting. im just trying to be well prepared. im a woman whos motivated, hyper aware of the challenges i face and a habitual over preparer. :)
 
The military is the best decision I ever made, but don't make it solely for what you want to do after (definitely a consideration, but don't make it your primary one). See, unlike EMS or even fire or law enforcement, military service in any component is writing a blank check, payable with anything up to and including your life, to the United States of America.

It's a great honor and terrible responsibility, but it can certainly do a lot for you.

I would also suggest that you figure out what the military can do for you, potentially even outside of medicine. In all honesty, EMT and even Paramedic are relatively easily accomplished alone, whereas the military can in some cases provide the best training on Earth in certain fields. A fire department generally doesn't really care about MOS, but it's a lot easier to live (in or out of the military) with a really, really marketable skillset (say, HVAC or Predator), and if fire and EMS are still your passion, then you are far more secure than most of us.

Lastly, consider active duty as well. Generally speaking, the Guard is a lot lower-speed than most active-duty units in a budget downturn.
 
On the other hand, regardless of MOS or branch, many FD's will look very positively at those with military experience. One of my co workers, despite being a single role EMT at our fire department, made it all the way to the Chief's interview at the neighboring FD, but wasn't picked up because they said he was to young and didn't have enough life experience...he was saying one of the things they told him was that "about the only way a 21 year old would get hired on was if they had a few deployments to Iraq under their belt" (or something to that effect)
 
i guess my main inquiry when referring to the guard is is it worth considering based on my interest in firefighting. i respect the postition but it isnt my passion. i know it would be beneficial but it seems like id be better off going the route without military experience...
 
If you're not into it, don't enlist.
 
It's a dying MOS outside of the Navy.
 
Alright where to start with this... First off, there are currently two different "Medic" programs in the army. Not sure which one you were looking at, but I am guessing just 68w program. This is a 16 week AIT program, takes you through EMT-2011 for the first 8 weeks, and than the last 8 weeks focus on Combat type medicine. I believe still there is the fast track program still available for people that already have there EMT prior to enlisting (As long as they are current and in good standing with NREMT).

Now with what you would be doing in the national guard, forget everything you have seen on tv with all the stupid commercials. Yeah that is not going to happen. So depending on the unit you are in, you could be doing medical readiness for soldiers (physicals), or supporting live fire ranges, or watching units do training and just providing medical support. This literally all depends on the unit.

The other program is the Flight Paramedic Program (F3), which you will not get into right away, especially in the national guard.

Now regarding the infantry comment. When you are deployed it depends on the unit you are in. If you are in a infantry unit, your primary role will be a soldier first, medic second. This comes from the TCCC Guidelines.

Firefighting- currently the 12m is still available as an MOS, now depending on your state, who knows if your state currently has a firefighting unit. If you go the 12m route you will get a lot of your fire certs. But remember depending on your department you want to work for, they still may put your through a fire academy.

Send me a PM with your specific questions your have, also http://emtlife.com/forums/military-tactical-wilderness-ems.25/ there is a lot of threads that probably can answer most of your questions. Luno and I have answered many of the questions.
 
The thread has been cleaned up and the off topic and offensive posts have been removed.

Thanks for everyone for tagging me in the post, however, the quickest way to get a response from one of the Community Leaders (moderators) is to click on the Report link at the bottom of the offensive thread. An email is immediately sent out to all of us. (Don't abuse it.)

To @mbfish3117, my apologies that some of our members took your thread so off topic. And I'm sorry that our members and guests had to read such non-sense. This is not what our community is about and it will not be tolerated.
 
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