Combat medic facts for kids

A combat medic is someone in the military who has medical training. Their job is to heal sick or injured soldiers on the battlefield. Medics are protected by the Geneva Conventions. This means that anyone who purposefully attacks or kills an medic clearly wearing medical clothing and has no weapon in their hand commits a war crime. Even though it is a war crime, some soldiers will still attack medics. An example of this is the Japanese military during World War II, when officers would pay soldiers extra money for killing medics. For this reason, most medics carry a pistol or a carbine just in case they need to protect themselves and the soldiers they are treating.

Images for kids

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  Norwegian medics during an exercise

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  Swedish Army medic in Afghanistan, 2006

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  IDF field doctors training in Israel

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  Capsarii depicted tending to injured soldiers on Trajan's Column.

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  2010 Haiti earthquake: Israel Defense Forces medical personnel coordinate relief efforts.

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  U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman providing treatment to a wounded Iraqi soldier, 2003.

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  A U.S. Special Forces medic in Afghanistan.

See also

In Spanish: Médico de combate para niños