Squad Medic

A Squad Medic is an Infantryman responsible primarily for providing medical attention to other injured and incapacitated infantrymen. This type of medic (as opposed to a Platoon Medic) is primarily responsible for the well-being of one particular Squad, of which he is a member. The Squad Medic is assigned to the Squad Lead Element, and spends most of his time following the Squad Leader closely.

The Squad Medic is the only member of the squad who carries a Medical Kit. This allows him to provide limitless basic care to injured soldiers. Depending on the version of the game being played, the Medic may carry additional medical equipment for the treatment of more complicated injuries. Most if not all of this gear can be recovered and used by other soldiers in case the Medic is killed.

The Medic carries the same weapon as his Squad-mates, but will often try to avoid directly engaging the enemy, if doing so would put him at risk of being targeted. In addition to his weapon, the Medic typically carries a large number of Smoke hand-grenades which he will use to conceal his movement - particularly when trying to treat a downed soldier in open terrain during contact with the enemy.

Equipment
The Medic carries light combat equipment consisting primarily of an Assault Rifle and several magazines. His primary equipment however is the Medical Kit, which defines his role in the Squad. He may also be carrying additional medical equipment, especially in ArmA 2 videos, as well as a large quantity of Smoke grenades.

Primary Weapon
A Medic uses an Assault Rifle as his primary weapon, or an equivalent weapon, as distributed to the other Riflemen in the squad based on the scenario's tech-level. This is generally a medium- and close-range weapon, suitable for engaging enemy Infantry. It fires medium caliber bullets (5.56mm, 5.45mm, or similar) and holds a magazine of about 30 bullets.

The Medic will not often use his weapon, to prevent the enemy from spotting his location and killing him. He is far too valuable to be thrown away in this manner, and during combat usually has to be ready to assist his friends, not fighting the enemy. Nonetheless, when the Medic has nothing else to do, and the enemy is not a major threat to him, he may and often will use his weapon.

Note that Medics rarely carry a large number of magazines for their rifle - sometimes as few as 4 or 5 total. They'll often be the first to scrounge more magazines from a dead body, but will quickly distribute these extra magazines to other members of the Squad as they are less likely to use those magazines themselves. Also, because of the weight of the medical gear (see below), they can't really carry too many magazines without becoming dangerously overloaded.

Medical Kit
The Medical Kit (or MedKit) is the Medic's primary piece of equipment. This item is the one that makes the Medic different from all other Riflemen in the Squad. It functions differently depending on the version of ArmA being played.

In both versions, however, this is the item that allows the Medic to provide an infinite amount of (basic) medical treatment to his fellow soldiers. It comes in the form of a special backpack, replacing the normal pack worn by other soldiers. Barring weird bugs, the pack can be taken by another soldiers, at which point that soldier will become the new Medic. This normally occurs when the original Medic is killed, assuming his body and Medkit can be found.

ArmA 2

 * In ArmA 2, the Medical Kit serves as an infinite supply of Bandages, which the Medic can use to stop other soldiers (and himself) from bleeding, after taking an injury.


 * Furthermore, carrying the Medical Kit also allows the Medic to provide "First Aid", which heals permanent injuries such as crippled legs or hands. This action cannot be performed at all without the kit, making the Medic extremely important for maintaining a soldier's effectiveness after they take damage in combat.


 * Note that in this version of ArmA, there's additional medical equipment that's necessary to revive unconscious soldiers and to remove pain effects - and is not covered by the MedKit's abilities. More on this below.

ArmA 3

 * As of 2017, ShackTac is using the vanilla medical system in ArmA 3, possibly with some slight in-house or third-party modification. In this version, the Medical Kit allows infinite treatment of injured soldiers without the need to use a First Aid Kit.


 * Furthermore, because a First Aid Kit can only restore a soldier to a certain health level after dropping below that level, a Medical Kit is necessary to heal a soldier completely (or at least, up to a reasonably high health). Without the kit, a soldier can only give themselves partial treatment, no matter how many First Aid Kits they are carrying.

Additional Medical Equipment (ArmA 2)
In ArmA 2, ShackTac used the ACE medical system. In this system, soldiers can suffer several different kinds of damage from each injury - often several kinds simultaneously. The Medical Kit (see above) can only heal two types of injury: Bleeding and crippling wounds. Other equipment is needed to heal the remaining types: Pain and unconsciousness.

Pain is healed by injecting a soldier with Morphine, a powerful painkiller. Removing pain ensures that the soldier will not fall unconscious, and removes any pain-related penalties such as aiming difficulties.

If a soldier is already unconscious, they must be injected with Epinephrine (or "Epi") to prevent them from dying. Epinephrine also helps the unconscious soldier wake up. Soldiers may wake up periodically without it, but are likely to fall unconscious again shortly afterwards due to the pain.

Both of these drugs come in syringes, and a Medic typically carries 20 syringes of each drug. Unlike Bandages, Morphine and Epinephrine supply is finite even when carrying a Medical Kit. The Medic will therefore scrounge up more Morphine and Epinephrine from the bodies of dead friendlies to replenish his constantly-dwindling stocks.

Smoke Grenades
Medics are typically outfitted with a respectable amount of thrown Smoke grenades. The primary reason is that Medics often need to obscure the body of a fallen soldier with smoke, concealing it from enemy fire and allowing the Medic to run over and treat the soldier with some safety. This usually gives the Medic just enough time to administer all the necessary treatment procedures, though he may throw additional grenades between treatments to provide more time if the soldier is badly hurt.

Medics don't always run out of Smoke grenades in this fashion during the mission, so they have some leeway with the use of the remaining grenades. They will usually deploy them behind the Squad as it disengages from enemy fire, much in the same way that Fireteam Leaders and Squad Leaders use their smoke grenades.

Note that Smoke grenades were more often used in this fashion in ArmA 2, because the ACE medical system often caused soldiers to fall unconscious out of cover or in a similar bad position, and be unable to reach the Medic's position under their own power. Contrarily in ArmA 3, the worst injury a soldier can sustain without dying simply slows them down greatly, in which case the smoke will usually be deployed in a way that allows the injured soldier to walk slowly behind it towards the Medic's position without being shot dead.

Misc. Equipment
With all of their medical equipment, Medics rarely have much space or weight allowance left to carry extra equipment. However, they do often carry at least a 343 radio (for communications with the rest of the Squad) and a Map.

High-ranking members of ShackTac in the Medic slot may be allowed equip themselves with a 148/152 radio, so that they can listen to Platoon radio chatter and keep informed of the developing tactical situation. This is not a common occurrence, however.

Role
Although the Squad Medic is equipped for light combat against Infantry, he will often do his best to avoid combat - especially when doing so would put him at risk. The Medic's primary task is to remain aware of the medical situation of all members of the Squad, and to administer treatment to any Squad member who requires it. This trumps pretty much anything else the Medic could be doing at any given time.

When not treating soldiers, the Medic will typically stay close to the Squad Leader at all times, unless instructed to remain with one of the Fireteams to provide them aid. If other Squad Medics get killed off, a Medic may quickly find himself running around between multiple Squads, tending to the wounded.

Medical Attention


The Squad Medic is far more capable at administering medical aid to Infantry than any other member of the Squad. In both ArmA 2 and ArmA 3, the Medic can perform certain medical actions that cannot be performed by any other infantryman - mostly thanks to his Medical Kit. Additionally, he carries a large/infinite amount of medical equipment, meaning that he is usually capable of providing said treatment throughout the entire mission.

The Medic must keep his ears open for calls at all times. These may arrive either on Voice or the 343 radio. When such a call is heard, the Medic will immediately attempt to ascertain the location and identity of the injured player, and make his way to them if possible in order to begin treatment. Initially, the Medic may use the radio to ask who needs treatment, and then switch to voice when he gets near the injured soldier's presumed location.

Once the injured soldier has been located, the Medic must determine whether that soldier can be safely treated on the spot, or whether the soldier and medic must first move to a safer location for treatment. Treatment can take some time, especially if the injury is severe, and especially in ArmA 2; therefore, treatment out in the open or under enemy fire is not advisable. If there is no option to move to a safer location, the Medic may elect to deploy Smoke for impromptu concealment (see below).

If there are multiple injured soldiers in need of attention, it is up to the Medic to decide who gets treated first. Usually, the most severely-injured soldier is treated first, but this is not always possible nor always advisable. The Medic's task is not only to treat everyone who can be treated, but to save as many lives as possible - which means that sometimes someone has to die for someone else to live.

After treatment is administered, the Medic will usually check the treated soldier again to ensure that they do not need a second (or third, or fourth...) treatment. Once all treatment is completed, the Medic will proceed to the next injured soldier, or return to the Squad Leader's position if no further medical attention is called for.

If other Squad Medics in the Platoon are killed, the Medic may have to divide his attention between two or more Squads, healing soldiers all over the place. Otherwise, the Squad Medic will tend to stick to his own Squad. Nonetheless, he will readily give treatment to any soldier who comes to his position asking for it, and will even actively look for soldiers to treat whenever the situation allows.

On occasion, particularly when the Squad is occupying a building or Compound, the Medic may set up an "aid station" in hard cover (e.g. inside a room with few windows, or behind a thick high wall). He will mark this position on the map, and inform his Squad members on the radio of that position. Injured soldiers will try to make their way to the aid station for treatment, if they can make it there at all.

Medical treatment is very different in ArmA 2 and ArmA 3. The ArmA 2 ACE system is relatively complex, requiring the Medic to perform a series of actions that could potentially save a soldier's life, using several different medical items. In ArmA 3, as of 2017, the vanilla system is far simple and requires only one action, with little or no direct danger to the soldier's well-being.

Concealment by Smoke
The Squad Medic is outfitted with a relatively large number of Smoke grenades, usually hand-thrown ones. The Medic will need to use these judicially in the following situations:


 * An injured soldier is unconscious in the open, under potential enemy fire, and must be treated where he is. This is situation occurs much more often in ArmA 2 videos. The Smoke will usually be deployed immediately next to the fallen soldier in order to conceal him and the Medic attempting to treat him.
 * An injured soldier is some distance away from the Medic, and the gap between them is being covered by enemy fire. In this case, the Medic will throw his smoke in order to conceal the entire gap, if possible, and make his way to the injured soldier; or the injured soldier will attempt to cross the gap towards the Medic.
 * In extreme situations where the Squad needs to disengage from heavy contact, particularly across open terrain, the Medic may contribute to the Squad's concealment by throwing Smoke grenades behind the squad as it moves. This is usually done towards the latter parts of a mission, when it is clear that withdrawing safely is more important than conserving Smoke grenades for later medical attention, as per the two points above.

Fire Support
Finally, although the Squad Medic will do his best to keep himself concealed from enemy fire and his position unknown to them, he may occasionally participate in firing at the enemy. This is done particularly in cases where the Squad is under direct close threat (in which case every gun firing can save lives), or in cases where the enemy is unlikely to fire back at the Medic.

Note however that the Squad Medic rarely carries a large amount of ammunition, at least compared to the squad's other members. Therefore, if he does participate in firing at the enemy, he will usually keep this in mind and conserve ammo if at all possible.

Chain of Command
The Squad Medic himself is not in directly line to inherit any role. His own role is already tasking, and he should be left free to exercise this role at all times; Command duty would interfere with this. Squad Medics do sometimes inherit command when most or all other leaders in the Squad have been killed off (including the Automatic Riflemen), but by this point the Squad will have been whittled down to a handful of men and is no longer that difficult to lead anyway.

Should the Squad Medic himself be killed, it is often advisable for one of the other Squad members to locate his body and retrieve his medical equipment - particularly his Medical Kit. Whoever picks this up will (in most versions of the game, barring unexpected bugs) become a Medic, and assume the role of a Squad Medic. However, they may need to mix this role with their previous role.

Downwards Inheritance
When a Squad Medic is killed, it is often a high priority for someone else in the Squad to locate his body and retrieve his medical equipment. This will normally allow the soldier who picked up the equipment to become a Medic himself, and can then provide medical attention as the original Medic could. This is true in most versions of ArmA used by ShackTac, barring any unforeseen bugs or mistakes made when picking up the medical gear.

The Medic's equipment is carried in a specialized rucksack. In ArmA 2, this ruck typically contains 20 doses each of Epinephrine and Morphine, supplies an infinite number of Bandages, and allows the soldier carrying it to perform "First Aid" treatment. In ArmA 3, the rucksack itself is a Medical Kit that allows the soldier carrying it to provide "enhanced" medical treatment to heal soldiers back to full health even after a serious injury.

In all versions, picking up this rucksack requires first dropping whichever rucksack the soldier was carrying. Thus, any soldier carrying specialty equipment in their rucksack (which cannot be carried in one's vest) is unlikely to switch their ruck for the medical ruck. As a result, it is often Rifleman who end up taking the medical ruck. This also goes well with the Riflemen's simple combat role, which they can juggle with the Medic role if necessary without too much complication - or become a full-time Medic if the situation calls for it.

Note that whoever picks up the medical gear will normally remain in their element rather than joining the Squad Lead Element.

Map Markers
The Squad Medic does not have a map marker of his own, making his position untrackable and thus making it harder to locate his body if he is killed. However, the Medic has an STHUD marker that tracks his position for any members of the Squad Lead Element within close proximity.

In the Mission Roster, Medics are the only players whose names are marked with a symbol.

Mission Roster
In the Mission Roster, Medics are the only players marked with any symbol. It is the same symbol used in the STHUD:



This allows instantly determining which soldier in each unit is the Medic, and vicariously allows instantly identifying the Squad Leaders (as they are the ones listed in the Squad Lead Element who do not have a symbol).

Communications
The Squad Medic spends most of his time sticking close to the Squad Leader, and will mostly use Voice to remain in contact with him. He also needs to pay close attention to the 343 radio, as calls for Medical Attention will usually arrive by radio. The Squad Medic has no command authority nor a real combat role, so his on-radio communications will usually be limited to those medical concerns.

Voice
The Squad Medic generally sticks close to the Squad Leader, and will rarely be outside of earshot. This proximity allows the two members of the Squad Lead Element to converse with one another using Voice. Mostly, such communication will consist of very basic coordination of movement, e.g. the Squad Leader telling the Medic to follow him, to get down, etc.

When the Medic is within earshot of other Squad members, they may use Voice to call for Medical Attention. However, if the medic is further away, or if they are unsure whether the Medic is within earshot, they will usually default to using the 343 Radio (see blow).

The Medic will also use Voice to call out to injured squad members, in order to locate them for treatment.

Finally, when someone from another Squad or unrelated element needs Medical Attention for themselves or another member of their element, and does not have a Medic of their own, they may go around asking people if they have a Medic available to give treatment. They will often do so with Voice, asking people "Do you guys have a medic?". Any medic who hears this question will likely answer and move to assist.

Radio
In most scenarios, the Squad Medic carries a standard 343 short-range radio, just like every other member of the Squad. It is set to the channel assigned to his Squad (usu. channel 1 for Alpha, channel 2 for Bravo, etc.).

The Medic does not normally require the radio to receive commands from the Squad Leader, as he will usually be within Voice range of the SL anyway. He will rarely be given any orders at all, on or off the Radio. Also, since the Medic has no command authority within the squad, he does not need the radio to issue orders to anyone else.

On the other hand, the Medic must pay close attention to the radio, as most calls for Medical Attention will arrive on this communication method. Most commonly, the Medic will ask for the injured person's name and Fireteam on the radio before heading out to provide medical attention to that person.

On very rare occasions, when the Medic is an experienced member of ShackTac, he may be allowed to carry a 148/152 long-range radio, set to the channel of the Platoon. This allows him to listen in on Platoon-level communications, though he is unlikely to actually speak on this radio at all.

Callsigns and Terminology
When using Voice communications, particularly when conversing with the Squad Leader, the Medic will be referred to by name.

Calls for Medical Attention, whether delivered by voice or radio, will usually refer to him simply as "Medic".

Below are several terms used in communications from and to the Squad Medic: