History of Tactical Medics

"What we have done for ourselves alone, dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." --- Albert Pike

The earliest recorded use of specifically assigned personnel to function as the medical evacuation component of a military operation can probably be attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803. Napoleon's soldiers did not have to wait until the fighting was over to receive medical attention and this no doubt served at the very least to enhance morale and perhaps the combatant's survival on the battlefield.

In the United States, the military Medical Service Corps can be traced to the establishment of an Apothecary General during the American Revolution and the creation of the Ambulance Corps and US Army Storekeepers in the Civil War. It was during the Civil War that Surgeon Jonathan Letterman, Director of the Army of the Potomac, implemented his plan for integrated medical treatment and evacuation of personnel in September 1862 at the battle of Antietam, Maryland.

It wasn't any different to be wounded in World War II than it was during the Civil War or World War I. However, if the World War II GI was wounded, his chances for survival were much greater than for his ancestor in the Civil War. During the Civil War, 50 percent or more of the men admitted to hospitals died, during World War I, it was 8 percent, World War II, 4 percent.

During World War II drugs such as sulfanilamide and penicillin were discovered and advanced surgical techniques were introduced that contributed to improved survival, but the primary reason for the success in improving the mortality rate was the speed with which wounded men were treated. It began with the frontline combat medics. In the beginning of the war at training camps, medics were often mildly despised because many of them were conscientious objectors and often ridiculed by the other combat personnel. But eventually because of their performance in combat, they were loved, respected and admired.

Combat medics were first assigned to "Special Forces units" and began to function in the dual role of operators and medics during the late 1950s and early 60s when President Kennedy commissioned the formation of the first "green beret" units of the U.S. Army.

The contemporary concept of assigning medically trained personnel to civilian law enforcement tactical operations units is most often attributed to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department when they had EMTs from their Emergency Services Section transferred onto their "SWAT" Team in 1969-70.

The term "TEMS" for Tactical Emergency Medical Support was coined by physicians Dave Rassumof and Rich Carmona after they participated as faculty at two conferences sponsored by the National Tactical Officers Association. The conferences were held in 1989-90 to explore the use of various medical personnel models to support law enforcement tactical operations at the behest of the then President of N.T.O.A., John Coleman, former Commander of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department SWAT Team.

Today's TEMS provider may be either a law enforcement tactical officer with specialized medical training or a civilian EMS provider with specific tactical law enforcement training, which prepares them to safely and effectively provide medical care in the unique environment of tactical law enforcement operations.

Regardless of which TEMS model is utilized, the availability of Tactical Emergency Medical Support within law enforcement teams has become a national standard of medical care that has demonstrated its value time and time again. By placing trained tactical medical personnel as closely as possible to the likely location of injury during high risk training exercises and missions, we have greatly reduced the time to delivery of potentially lifesaving medical care for tactical law enforcement team members and for the public we serve.

Our singular definition of "been there, done that" is epitomized by retired WWII, Korea and Vietnam War veteran SFC Wayne Slagel who is believed to be the only combat medic ever to receive the Combat Medic Badge in three wars.