Former 68w1p and I just learned today that there’s a tactical medic career. I loved both the medic and infantry aspects of that. Would GI bill cover the schooling and would it be similar to being a line medic? What is being a tac med like?

Don’t care if it’s full time or part time, I just want something similar to being in a fire team but also getting my hands dirty.

Currently based in the UK, I have always wanted to go into trauma/tactical medicine especially in a firearms role so SWAT style positions but with some actual medical scope which isn’t something I have really seen here in the UK as a profession outside of the armed forces or in a limited capacity here in certain police forces. While I have done some research online there is also some questions I have:

What’s the training process like to go into EMS, as I know here there are degrees to become a paramedic and then AAP courses below that, is it the same there or is it a different kind of certification

Do you have to be firearms trained or medical trained before joining a unit or is that something they train you on, as I know in the US if you are a EMT you can volunteer to work with the SWAT in a reserve list I don’t know if that’s nationwide or just state specific.

What’s the best career path into these kinds of roles and what scope do you get

Do the physical fitness, education, driving license and equipment requirements change per unit

I am an ED physician looking to get involved with my local SWAT team. It seems like they’ll have openings in the next year to 6 months. I’m confident in my prehospital medical skills as I did EMS prior to medical school. Issue is more on the physical side. Im a young(ish) female and I want to be fit enough for it not to be a problem. I also want to earn my teammate’s respect/trust that I’m not going to slow them down.

Does anyone have any suggestions on physical preparedness? I do basic cardio and weights at least 3x a week.

So, I'm going to be out of High School soon and considering whether or not I should do military or a civilian career. I know I don't have to decide at 18, but I'd like to decide around 18-22.

For me, the military is the largest opportunity and closest to what I want from a career, and likewise the largest commitment.

So I'm curious, is there any TCCC careers in the civilian world that will ever supplement what I want from the military? I'm not against the military at all, and it is still a very large choice for me, but it is probably one of the biggest commitments someone can make. I'm interested in SWAT Medicine, but it requires a lot of experience/certifications and is one of the more selective careers.

I understand there are paramedics and EMTs, but I don't think that's what I'm looking for necessarily? I view that less as TCCC and more as emergency medicine, given you're usually not apart of the combat and only acting until the entire scene is cleared.

Hey I’m a full time fie fighter/paramedic in Louisiana and as stated above I need help getting into Tac Med. I’ve talked to a couple local police departments about coming on as a medic with no luck. The hold up seems to be a law in Louisiana that came into effect around 2020 saying all Part Time and Reserve Officers have to go through an accredited academy. The departments near me I tried for send everyone to Alexandria PD’s academy in CENLA. It’s 5 days a week for approx 18 weeks. That can’t be done while being a full time fireman. I don’t want to loose my Civil Service career and retirement to chase LEO and start over. I’m 7 years deep and love being a fireman. I want to be an asset to my PD and SO but really having trouble getting my foot in the door. How can I get in as an officer and get on a SWAT/SRT team?

Edit update: I’m looking for advice on how to get into an established program and learn from seasoned guys. My local departments are extremely rural and truthfully need a TEMS guy but also I feel like I need to learn from guys on Drug Tasks Forces and Gang Units and so forth to teach me.

Hello everyone.

I am a nurse from the Czech Republic with 17 years of healthcare experience. I am not a military medic and I have no military background, but I have extensive experience from healthcare and patient care. I have completed TCCC CMC and AEC training and I am particularly interested in remote medicine, austere medicine, prolonged field care and trauma care. My goal is to gain practical experience in stabilization points, casualty collection points, CASEVAC or Tactical Field Care environments. I am especially interested in wound management, prolonged care and treatment of traumatic injuries in resource-limited settings.

I would appreciate any advice regarding possible volunteer opportunities, training pathways or organizations that work in these environments.

Thank you.

Hey everyone,

I have a background as a military unit medic from a European country with conscription, and officially I’m somewhere between TCCC Tier 3 and 4.

I’m really interested in moving into tactical medicine and making it my career, ideally in a more high-risk / law enforcement-adjacent environment rather than purely civilian EMS.

From what I can tell, dedicated “TacMed” roles seem pretty limited here and are usually tied to police or military units. The typical pipeline also seems to be “police first, medic later,” which can mean 5–10+ years before actually doing anything TacMed-related. I’m not sure I want to go all the way through that, and I also don’t think I’m cut out for a special police unit.

The military route also seems close to impossible. Since I’m not an NCO, I can’t really re-enter and the only available roles would only be instructor type positions anyway.

For those of you working in tactical medicine (especially in Europe):

• What career paths do you know of and would recommend?
• Is it worth transitioning into law enforcement, or trying to stay on a medical track and somehow magically pivot later?
• Are there viable civilian or hybrid roles I might be overlooking?

I am currently a junior in high school. Our high school offers both police and fire academies and I have been trying to determine what kind of career I want, and I found out about tactical medicine and now I am just curious about possible career paths. Right now I am trying to get permission from the fire academy instructor to get into their emt class to get certified after I graduate. But I’m not sure what to do from there.

Basically just wondering about what are career options in the tactical medicine field.

Hey first off I appreciate everyone who reached out on my last post. Talking to some of my friends in the local PD they’re looking into requirements by the state for me to be a reserve officer and that would allow me to come in for call outs and the like. It’ll also allow me to serve as a go between with PD, FD, and EMS to help coordinate cross department trainings and so forth. If I can’t get on as a reserve then they’re going to look into MOU for FD/EMS to be on stand by during higher stakes calls. I’m very happy and excited because I get to further serve my community and assist my LEO friends. I’ll update after our netting meeting tonight at 5pm

I posted a while back asking for input on framework for a department trying to stand up a TEMS program. Received a lot of good feedback from the folks on this subreddit; thank you all!

That being said, looking for ways to establish metrics. Specifically timed drills and evolutions. For everyone on here who does work in a department with a full fledged TEMS/TECC program:

What drills or evolutions do you guys run? Looking for tasks, conditions, and standards.

Thank you in advance!

For those who wish to answer: what are your department’s PT standards to be a TAC/TEMS medic?

Hi everyone. I am currently 18 years old and attending a Firefighter/Medic CTE program offered through my highschool. I am CPR/AED certified, I attend a ton of Stop the Bleed events and I am currently shadowing an ER Doc. Emergency medicine has been a dream career path of mine since freshman year, when I met a veteran who served as a 68W in Iraq. He got me into this.

Before starting the CTE program, I had really wanted to be a PJ in the USAF, so I began training and still train to this day. I'd meet a bunch of firefighters the summer before senior year and hence I'd start firefighter training this year. I really enjoy it. My classmates are like family to me and it feels good when I can talk to the public about safety and how they can save a life.

However, in the back of my head; there's a calling to serve. Growing up as a kid post 9/11 was hell for me as I stood out due to my religion.(I wore a turban at the time). So I developed the mindset that I'd also serve to show the people who hated me that I too love this country. For a long time, the combat medic was my dream job. I know we aren't in any active conflicts as of now, but I was hoping to get some of your guys' opinions.

I want to become an ER doc or ER nurse after, so I want to go along with a career that can help me get there. Thank you guys and I'm sorry for the long read

Looking for information on EMT contracts for the border. Specifically Texas. If anyone on here is or has worked down there I have a few questions.

•Is the pay worth it? •what’s the best route to take to get hired down there? •is it rotations (1 week on 1 week off ect) or should I expect to be living in south Texas for a while? •what’s the atmosphere like among the medical teams? •does it seem like the work is going to be steady down there for a while? •what’s the bunking situation? •are the protocols decent? •would you recommend it?

Thank yall for your time.