Imperial Marine Medics

[opensent]

Do Imperial Marines have medics? I know they can get medical skills on the advanced table (T/Med in T20).

Is this the occasional grunt with first aid training? Or do Marine units have their own medics? What about doctors, nurses? Are these personnel organic to the Marine TOEE? Do the leave that to the Navy?

Who fixes broken Marines IYTU?

 

[veltyen]

IMTU the marines operate as a specialist beachhead force as well as operating as spaceport defence and ships troops.

As such they have all the personel nessersary to operate independantly and isolated for months at a time. So yes, they have Doctors and Nurses, and also rely heavily on automated medical units and emergency low berth procedures in the feild. At a more static post medical facilities are normally supplied by the Navy, but some of those medicos will be Marines on paper. In practice they will be medical personel at a naval post and the distinction is unlikely to be noticed by most.

I also allow marines to crosstrain extensively (take navy levels in T20) to have more technically minded Marines.

 

[Golan2072]

According to LBB4 and Striker, Imperial-style forces have a medic or two per platoon, a medical "clearing station" per Company and a field hospital per Battalion.

IMTU (which isn't the OTU), the Marine TO&E could be found here and includes Medics at the above-stated levels.

 

[archhealer]

Keep in mind, at least for T20, that the player can shoose what to specialize in. you could easily have a multiclassed Marine/Professional class combo focussing on Medical; maybe they went pre-med in university and then joined the Marines and continued training as a combat medic. This would be a VERY handy person to have in a party!

Also remember that First Aid in T20 is the most useless and pointless feat ever invented. Just as a sidenote.

 

[opensent]

University is a good idea, but pre-med?.. frag that.

I want a 6foot 4 inch 220 pound combat Marine named Paul Flowers, BS Nursing. Nurse Flowers takes no $#'+ and when it's time for your medicine, you better take it! <knuckles cracking>

8P

 

[archhealer]

Hey, nobody says all premeds HAVE to be skinny, socially awkward, spoiled rich kids. But an actual medical doctor with marine training, heh.. Though, Nurse Flowers DOES sound interesting!

 

[Fritz_Brown]

He should also have an unfortunate first name, so he tends to use his first initial and his middle name. Maybe Frances.

 

[archhealer]

I had a high school english teacher who's name was "Rusty Blossom". That was pretty bad. Nurse Blossom is just as bad as Nurse Flowers... I think Rusty Blossom would have almost no CHOICE but to join the marines. Even if he did start out as an academic or professional.

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Furtive Envoy:
Who fixes broken Marines IYTU?

Imperial Navy corpsmen provide the majority of medical care for Imperial Marines, both off and on the battlefield.

A small number of Marines receive cross-training, particularly those assigned as ship's troops aboard escort starships - most of these ships have only one or two IN ship's doctors/medics detailed, usually without the battle dress and combat training the regular corpsmen receive, so the IM will put a few of its grunts through the navy medic school to insure adequate care.

An Imperial Marine's job is mostly to break things and make sure they stay broken - fixing stuff is someone else's business.

 

[opensent]

I wondered if anyone was going to go the Navy Corpsman route for Marine medics... 8)

So would Marine Medics (of any persuation) drop in on an attack? Would they have or need the ability to wear battle dress (good for surviving, bad for fine motor coordination)?

Armed or un-armed?

Marine/Professional for T20 seems smart, but then again Navy with a few levels of Marine has almost as many skill points and PMOS T/Medical seems a much better fit that Professional Specialty. But that's for blue side/green side medics. If Marines recruit, train, and support thier own medical staff, Academic or Professional is almost a must.

I don't have book 4 or Striker, just the 1-3 reprint from here. Is Medical skill common on the tables there?

And not to get off on a tanget, but what about Scout medics? Seems like there should be a lot of them, since they get medical skil on the both Advanced Education Tables!

 

[Black Globe Generator]

Originally posted by Furtive Envoy:
I wondered if anyone was going to go the Navy Corpsman route for Marine medics... 8)

Originally posted by Furtive Envoy:
So would Marine Medics (of any persuation) drop in on an attack?

Yes, definitely - each trained and qualified marine represents a significant expenditure of resources, and medics/corpsmen "protect the Imperium's investment."

Originally posted by Furtive Envoy:
Would they have or need the ability to wear battle dress (good for surviving, bad for fine motor coordination)?

I haven't had this come up before, but I assume that battle dress already allows fairly fine manipulation - for example, there's no restriction that I know of that says a character in battle dress can only fire weapons designed with the BD gauntlets in mind, which means that fingers can apparently get through standard trigger guards.

(As a side note, I tend to think many devices in the TU must be "supersized" to some degree - for example, starship controls must allow the crew to operate them while wearing vacc suits in the event the hull is depressurized. It certainly helps to explain those big computers... )

Originally posted by Furtive Envoy:
Armed or un-armed?

Armed - the days of the noncombatant medic are long gone.

Originally posted by Furtive Envoy:
I don't have book 4 or Striker, just the 1-3 reprint from here. Is Medical skill common on the tables there?

IIRC, the only way a Marine using LBB 4 can get Medical-1 is by assignment to specialist school, giving the character a one-in-six chance. (IMTU, this means the Imperial Marine character was sent to school with the IN corpsmen for cross-training, as described above.)

Originally posted by Furtive Envoy:
And not to get off on a tanget, but what about Scout medics? Seems like there should be a lot of them, since they get medical skil on the both Advanced Education Tables!

All of the field branches would certainly require medics: Commo and Survey as part of a starship crew, Exploration for contact teams.

 

[archhealer]

For battle dress, maybe there'll be IMTU a new medic-specific battle dress... a little light on the armament to make room for a maneuverable appendage medkit, builtin hypos and medical supplies and drugs and stuff all dialed up at the touch of a button.

 

[opensent]

As a former civilian paramedic myself, battled dressed medics would be great to have, assuming it allowed the fine manipulation and dexterity required. You use your hands a lot as a medic, and not just for movement. Touching and feeling the patient is critical. Is the skin cool and clammy? Hot and dry? Can you detect distal and radial pulse? Do you feel crepitus at the injury site? These are things that require you to detect very small amounts of pressure, temperature and unusual tactile sensations. Admittedly some of this is solved with the advent of advanced sensors that indicate body temp, pulse, blood pressure, etc.

The case for battle dress is straight forward. First, there is a lot of stuff to lug around as a medic! Second, people are heavy, especially military personnel (more muscle, and they carry lots of stuff). Again, battle dress would be the way to go to quickly move them and carry the stuff you need, especially if they are in battle dress. Otherwise you need a helper to assist with a stretcher, patient rolls, etc.

I agree with armed medics as well. At the very least, some kind of personal defense weapon. What is given to vehicle crews for self defense?

 

[Spud]

Sorry I'm late, but what about Harzen Flowers, combat medic?

 

[aramis]

For a battle dress unit, the medic would be in BD. Corpsman if enlisted, Nurse or doc if officer. (MTU, the doctor/NursePractitioner distinction is negligible...)

And yes, IMTU, marines have their own medical types. Navy guys on ship, for the major/evac, but all the field work is marines.

Scouts often, IMTU, also have medical training.

 

[Golan2072]

By the way, IMTU, the Solar Triumvirate arms and armors its medics; while the Alliance rarely shoots at medics, the Matriarchate does, and so do pirates and dangerous lifeforms.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Originally posted by Spud:
Sorry I'm late, but what about Harzen Flowers, combat medic?

Perfect!