Ethnography Peer Review Revision

8/10/2019 Ethnography Peer Review Revision

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companiesCompanies, approximately 500 – 600 soldiersSoldiers), Company (3 to 4

platoonsPlatoons, approximately 100 – 200 soldiersSoldiers), Platoon (3 to 4 squadsSquads,

approximately 16 – 40 soldiersSoldiers), and Squad (4 to 10 soldiersSoldiers.) This paper is

written about a Company, where the highest ranking soldier is a Captain or O3 (the third officer

rank.)Officer rank), and my job is called 68W (sixty-eight whiskey) or Combat Medic, so the unit

I’m in is medical.

A loud beeping noise started the process for this paper. A loud, annoying, beeping noise

followed by a few expletives at how early it was and remembering that was one of the major

reasons I got out of the Army to begin with. It is 0430 (zero-four-thirty) and I awoke to begin

preparing to report to my Reserve unit for our monthly drill. I arrived in the parking lot outside

the building in Winston-Salem at 0615 (the customary 15 minutes prior to formation that all

military units live by) which is always at the same reserve component center. The building is an

old, dark , red brick in the shape of a high school gym. There is a large open area that you walk

into that feels exactly like a gym except it’s decorated with Army propaganda and brochures

about Army programs.

I readied my notepad,. I had informed my chain of command that I would be taking notes

for an assignment, but didn’t really state what it was so no one would act in an unnatural way.

Between 0615 and 0625 the soldiers start to “form up.” A formation consists of between 3 and 4

“squadsSquads” of 3 to 6 people. These numbers can be larger or smaller depending on how big

the unit is. The squadsSquads form shoulder -to -shoulder with the Squad leader (most senior

rank for that squadSquad) being the first soldierSoldier on the far left looking at the front of the

formation and far right being in the formation. Subsequent squadsSquads fall in an armarm’s

length behind the first squadSquad and stand directly behind the soldierSoldier in front of them.

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The Platoon Sergeant, or “PSG” (the most senior rank for the platoon, PSGPlatoon) will stand in

front of the formation in the center and give commands. Beside the Platoon Sergeant will be a

Guidon ( pronounced “guide – on)”) Bearer, usually the tallest person in the platoonPlatoon or the

person that scored the best on the physical fitness test. (See image 1: Red square is the 1st Squad

leader, the blue square is the PSG, and the maroon square is the Guidon bearer). This person will

hold the unit flag or “Guidon.” After everyone is formed up and the First Sergeant (, or “1SG)”,

or the most senior enlisted person in a companyCompany (there is only one of these ranks per

companyCompany) will center himself between all of the platoonsPlatoons and call the command

“FALL IN” upon which everyone will snap to the position of “Attention” (heels touching, feet

45 degrees° apart, arms straight down at the sides, hands in a fist with thumbs capping the ends

and facing forward.)). He will then call “RECEIVE THE REPORT” which will signal to the

PSG’s to do an “about face” (place their right foot behind their left heel and pivot 180°) and they

will call “REPORT.” After they call report, the squadSquad leaders in order from first

squadSquad to the last will take turns saluting the PSG and reporting how many people are























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assigned to the squadSquad, how many people are present, and where the missing members are.

After all squadsSquads have reported this information to the PSG, the PSG will do another about

face and give a very similar report to the 1SG, but this time with the numbers for the entire

platoonPlatoon. This process is called “getting accountability.” After accountability has been

reported, everyone will stand at Attention and wait for Reveille.

At precisely 0630 Reveille is played and all soldiersSoldiers will be given the command

“PRESENT… ARMS” by their 1SG. On the command present arms soldiers, Soldiers salute

(with their right hand, all fingers straight and the thumb straight along the edge of the hand, with

the tip of the middle finger touching the brim of their hat if wearing one and their eyebrow if

not.). “During the 28 days at home not doing Army stuff you forget about silly things like

Reveille, but you catch yourself humming the tune if you look at a watch… especially after








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serving on Active duty,” says a Squad leader for the 396th

Medical Ambulance company. This is

the first bugle call of the day, many more come at different times.

Following the first formation of the day for accountabilityAccountability and for reveille,

soldiersReveille, Soldiers will typically be released to their PSG to conduct Physical Training or

“PT.”. PT is always started by performing the Physical Readiness Training or “PRT”; a warmup

consisting of 10 exercises: the bend and reach, the rear lunge, high jumper, rower, squat bender,

windmill, forward lunge, prone row, bent leg body twist, and the pushup, according to FM (field

manual)Field Manual 7-22 (or “FM 7-22 (FM seven dash twenty two is how it’s said.)). After the

warmup, leaders usually split up and conduct a run or some kind of circuit training, depending on

the day. During my observation, the unitUnit decided they had been training hard, so PT was a

soccer game at a local field. After PT is complete, soldiersSoldiers are released for what is called

“Personal Hygiene.” personal hygiene. During this time (usually an hour to an hour and a half)

soldiersSoldiers are expected to shit, shower, shave, eat, and get into the working uniform for the

day. In the Army we call this uniform the Army Combat Uniform or “ACUs.”. Wear of all Army

uniforms is governed by AR (army regulation)Army Regulation 670-1 (also pronounced six-seventy

dash one, see the pattern?), or “AR 670-1”. The ACU has nine major parts: The patrol cap or

“PC,”, the ACU top, the patches for the ACU top, tan tT-shirt, ACU trousers, Tantan riggers belt,

green or black socks, tan combat boots, and dog tags. The squadSquad leader had this to say

about the uniform,: “I’ve been in the Army for almost eight years, in that time we transitioned

from BDUs to ACUs and I have to say that the ACUs are way more work -friendly and easier to

wear. We don’t have to iron them like before, and the boots don’t require shining. I’m not a huge

fan of all the Velcro the uniform has, though,; it tends to get caught on things and some of the

patches fall off after a while because it becomes worn out.””.



















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During the normal duty day I was excused from my usual duties as a soldierSoldier and

allowed to wander freely through all of the platoonsPlatoons and the tasks they were under

takingundertaking for the day so I could observe them. I noticed that in this reserve unitReserve

Unit, a lot of standard Army practices that are usually over lookedoverlooked on the active

dutyActive Duty side of the house are very prominent. For example: when a soldierSoldier of

junior rank, E1 through E4 (the E stands for “enlisted),”), addresses someone of higher rank,

E5+, they must stand at Parade Rest and refer to them by formal rank. Parade restRest is a

position where the soldierSoldier is standing with his or her feet approximately 12 inches apart or

even with the shoulders, and with both

hands behind their back with the right

hand on top of the left and the thumbs

interlocked. [PARADE REST IMAGE] (see:

image 2.) This is done to show respect

to the superior rank and is usually met

with a quick “relax” if done properly.

Reserve units also differ from normal units obviously in the fact that they only meet once a

month for 2 or 3 days. People come from as far away as 300 miles for a reserveReserve weekend,

active dutyActive Duty everyone lives within basically 15 miles of the installation - if not on it.

The Army reserveReserve offers a free hotel room for anyone living more than 50 miles from

their meeting place.

The first platoonPlatoon of medicsMedics in the 396th medical companyMedical Company

was tasked with doing preventative maintenance, checks and services (, or “PMCS)” on the

companyCompany vehicles for the day. This means they were going to spend all day in the Motor















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Pool. The Motor Pool is hated by almost every medicMedic in the United States Army… reserve,

activeReserve, Active, and “nasty girls” ( National Guard) we (“Nasty Girls”) all hate it. The Motor

Pool is a vast concrete area behind the reserveReserve building with large green freight

containers sectioning off the parking spots for various vehicles. These freight containers hold all

of the gear and maintenance equipment associated with the vehicle it is assigned to. This

companyCompany currently owns about 10 Field Litter Ambulances (, or “FLA)” which are

ambulances built onto a Humvee frame. [FLA PICTURE] (See image 3.)

PMCS is performed by going through what is called a -10 (dash 10) or a basic service manual

(anything followed by 10 in the Army denotes the basic level, for example a 68W10 is a new

junior rank medicMedic) and following a maintenance guideline that covers almost every single

nut or bolt on the Humvee. This is a long, arduous task and I checked in on them several times

throughout the day to see how it was going. The first platoonPlatoon fourth squadSquad leader

had this to say about PMCS, “I hate doing this, we. We all hate doing this. We’re medics, not

mechanics… but I guess it has to be done. Might as well call us medi-chanics.” I had heard that











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term before during my time being an infantry medicInfantry Medic for a mechanized armor

battalionBattalion.

Second platoonPlatoon for my observations was training on Trauma Lanes. Being an

Army Combat Medic means you have to be ready to deal with literally anything that could be

imagined as a battlefield injury. Trauma lanes are usually set up and run by the medicsMedics

with the most combat experience in the company. Trauma lanesLanes are carried out as

realistically as possible. I loaded up in what we call “Full Kit” which includes a 40l b Improved

Outer Tactical Vest (, or “IOTV),”, an Army Combat Helmet (, or “ACH),”, a 50+ pound aid bag,

and a 7.5lb M4 Carbine. For this lane, the companyCompany was not using pyrotechnics, all

incoming fire or hostile contact would be voiced by cadre. I volunteered to run the lane and let

someone else take notes so I could accurately write about it. I was in the prone position with my

weapon facing the direction I was told hostile fire was coming from. I had one Combat Life

Saver , or “CLS” trained (CLS) assistant to assist me in the lane,; he was only allowed to do what I

tell him. I was being fired at. The first thing you’re trained to do as a Medic is to return fire. I

returned fire. While shooting downrange, I call to my casualty “Can you move to cover? Can you

provide self-aid? Can you return fire?” I get no response. Eventually the cadre tells me hostile

fire is temporarily suppressed. I stand up and bound forward with my assistant being sure to keep

check on my 12 (directly in front) for returning enemies. Arriving at the casualty is called being

on the “X.” On the X, the only treatment you can render is a hasty tourniquet on a massive

hemorrhaging extremity and move the casualty to cover . My casualty had a missing right leg and

bright red blood squirting everywhere, -- it’s arterial. I grab a Combat Application Tourniquet (,

or “CAT)” from my pocket and apply it high and tight on the amputated leg,: this takes less than

60 seconds. I then instruct my assistant to pull security while I grab the casualty by his body























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armor and drag him back to cover. Once behind cover you enter a phase of care called “Tactical

Field Care.” I start this phase by calming down, checking my own pulse and repeating in my

head “M – A – R – C – H.” This acronym stands for Massive Hemorrhage, Airway, Respirations,

Circulatory, Hypothermia/Helicopter, this is the treatment protocol for Combat Medics as

directed by the Army Medical Department ((“AMEDD)”) which is headquartered at Fort Sam

Houston, Texas. I quickly make my patient naked (in a training environment, down to the tan t-

shirt and ACU trousers). To complete the first part of my treatment protocol I make sure there

are no major bleeds I missed from being on the X and that any major bleed I treated is still

controlled after movement. Starting at the head and moving down, hitting every extremity and

the torso, you slide your hands under the body and back out to see if any blood that wasn’t there

before is present. Airway is the next step,

and is started by looking, listening, and

feeling for breathing by the casualty. I use

my hands to perform a maneuver known as

the “Head tilt, chin lift” in which I place a

hand on the head and push back , while my

other hand on the chin pushes up which

causes the head to tilt back and open the

airway. To make sure that I can keep the airway open, I insert a tube into the casualty’s nose

called a Nasopharyngeal Airway ((“ NPA)”), this tube slides down a nostril and sits on the back

of the throat to make sure nothing can completely obstruct the airway. (See image 4). While

performing the Airway step, I instructed my CLS trained assistant to check the chest for equal

rise and fall of the lungs. He reported back that one side was rising and the other wasn’t. This;












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this immediately tells me that the patient has a Tension Pneumothorax, or a collapsed lung. I tell

my assistant to insert a 3 and a quarter inch, 14 gauge needle into his collapsed lung. This is

known as Needle Chest Decompression. This needle is inserted 90° to the chest wall on the mid-

clavicular line (the nipple is mid-

clavicular.) And, just above the

3rd

rib. While he wrapswrapped

up inserting and securing the

NCD, I jumped to Circulatory

which mostly involves treating

for different types of shock and

initiating Intravenous access.

This particular casualty had

radial pulses (the pulse in your

wrist) which indicates that his

blood pressure is at least 80

systolic and that he isn’t in

hypovolemic shock. I initiate

what is called a saline lock, this

is I.V. access that is capped with

an easy access port. The last step

is Hypothermia treatment and

Helicopter which is completed by wrapping the patient in an all-weather blanket (also known as

a space blanket) and initiating a 9-line medevac request.[9-line picture] (see image 5.) This










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request is called over the radio, and, as you could have guessed, results in evacuating the

casualty back to a higher echelon of medical care. This all seems like a lot to take in, but I’ve

practiced this over and over for more than 4 years,; it’s almost second nature for me. Honestly,

this was one of the easier trauma lanesTrauma Lanes I’ve ever conducted and I impressed a lot

of the onlookers at my new unitUnit.

TowardTowards the end of the day, at around 1630 or so, the unitUnit starts to clean in

preparation to go home. The day is ended with a “Close-out” formation which is very similar to

the accountability formation from the morning (except that at exactly 1700 the bugle is called

“Retreat” which is followed by “To the colors.”” instead of “Reveille”). Soldiers salute on the

first note of “To the colors” and return to the position of attention on the last note. On the last

day of the drill weekend, the 1SG calls everyone into a half circle before releasing them home to

give what is known as a “Safety Brief .””. These are almost always the same spiel about not

driving drunk, not beating your spouse or animals, practicing safe sex, and not doing drugs. My

Squad Leader had this to say at the end of the day, “See, after working hard all day, it’s nice to

go home…There are days when serving sucks, and there are days when serving kicks ass. I

wouldn’t trade this job for anything… except maybe going back active duty so I can do this

every day.” I enjoy doing this stuff too, I however don’t plan on going active duty again unless

I’m wearing a little gold bar ,; I’m done with the enlisted life.

I hope this helped you, the reader, see a little of what it’s like to be a Soldier for a day…

even if it was just a POG, ( pronounced “pogue,” medic point of view (POG stands for ,”, which

means “Position Other than Grunt” which is a derogatory term that Infantry soldiersSoldier’s use

for anyone that isn’t Infantry.) ) medics point of view.




















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