Everything seems to be going swimmingly up until 3:19:
3:19 – Sandwich rifle in your knee pit before you crouch down, then continually muzzle sweet your buddy’s head while you’re trying to help him.
Is there a legit reason to do the above maneuver? It just seems to me that in addition to the muzzle direction problem, it would make everything 100x more awkward and uncomfortable. This is an AR-15 for god sake, not some jam-o-matic that’s doing to cry foul when it gets some dust from the ground on it if he were to put it to his side or in front of him. Plus, if he ever needed to get to his rifle it’s an awkward spot to have it for that too. Actually he grabs it at 4:09 just before he’s about to take the injured guy away and looks like he passes it across his calves a couple times. Ross (the instructor) is a former US Navy Combat Media with several combat tours.
Thoughts?
Gat tip: no uno
Comments
19 responses to “Operating In Tactical Medic Operations”
I don’t see anything wrong with it. He toggled the rifle on safe and there isn’t anything to actuate the trigger. He needed to stow the weapon fast in order to help. Putting the weapon in the dirt is not a good idea.
It’s not ideal, but I spent 6 months of my life with 3 live grenades strapped to my chest. My perception of what is dangerous or not with weapons now is heavily influenced by how competent the person holding/stowing said weapon is.
Even among firearms people, I notice a timidity around guns that just doesn’t exist with folks who had to sleep with their loaded weapon(s) on a tiny cot for months on end. I don’t mean this to demean “civilians” but maybe explain the IDGAF attitude in the vid when it comes to flagging while role playing CLS type activities.
No such thing as a Navy Combat Medic lol.
As far as the rifle being placed behind the knee, it is taught to keep the rifle out of the way, away from the patients reach (enemy casualty, local national etc.) , and to ensure that the rifle is not forgotten when it comes time to move the patient. I have heard the method from a few instructors, I personally don’t practice it.
To me, anything involving patching someone up in a fire situation will always be CLS. :)
Correct, but if you say Hospital Corpsman hardly anyone knows what the hell you’re talking about.
Better option:
https://www.full30.com/video/dccfd084bf6b78d61ffc576da93d2000
I was taught slings are not optional for long guns. Maybe this is why. As to the vid that Mike points to, what if you don’t have a fore-grip?
I’m not an operator, operating in operations, but I’d rather have a 2 point sling in any case, there’s too much “dangling around” with 1-pointers.
First I’ve seen of a medic crouching on their weapon. I would be concerned with it being like that for an extended period of time treating a casualty, then jumping up carrying a combat load, body armor, etc and legs/feet be asleep from the rifle in the backs of knees. Could result in injury. Not to mention if he suddenly needed his rifle. Just imagine what that draw would look like.
What I saw most of our medics do was place the rifle on the ground, ejection port up and keep a knee on top of the rifle for security until another soldier could get there to assist.
I can’t remember a single time overseas that someone got upset about the exterior of their weapon being dirty.
This is a legit thing to do, roommate is a medic and he was taught this.
If MAC + Yeager + Cory07ink had a son…?
Not my ideal position for the same reasons Halon listed. I was not a medic but I did escort our platoon medic a few times. He slung his rifle after dropping his med pack. All of our patients were Afghan Border Patrol, and all were either bullets or shrapnel to the ass because when shit got real, they dropped their weapons and went face down ass up in the ditch. I never helped with a serious injury or litter patient. That said, I’d think a single-point sling would be a better option. Still not derpy or herpy.
I’m sure there’s nothing funny about all the ABP guys with ass-wounds if you’re there witnessing it, but damn that comment almost made me laugh out loud in front of my boss.
It was funny at the time. Especially the third or fourth time. Seriously? Face down ass up is your reflexive incoming fire posture?
“This is an AR-15 for god sake, not some jam-o-matic”
Did you really post that sentence on the internet!?
See this is why you should always operate on operations with bayonet affixed. You can just stick it in the ground and keep the weapon clean and handy. :-)
Excellent! (in mr burns voice)
none of our Corpsmen did this, which is fucking stupid. That is what 2 (and god forbid 3) point slings and weapons catches are for.
Nah…as someone else mentioned rifle on safe, ejection port up, knee on top for security.
The weapons placement in the video ventured into the “making operations up for operational reasons operator” status.
So we don’t teach direct pressure anymore? How about you drop a knee in that mofos inguinal while you’re dicking with your TQ? And yeah, 2 point swung around the back is faster and more sensible.
I was retired in 2009, so maybe that’s something new they’re teaching, but I would never put my rifle like that. I’d be dead if I did, because having it easily accessible while treating the patient saved my ass once. That also seemed a little slower than usual. Normally you’d get the tourniquet on the obvious extremity wound fast, do an extremely rapid blood sweep down the other limbs, and then move their ass to a better location for anything more in depth. Also always double up through the buckle, to many people have been unloaded dead because the straps loosened a bit in transport. It really only takes a tiny bit of slack to let the bleed continue or resume.