Playing the medic role in a team-oriented situation.

A full guide on what to do in coop or team situations as the medic role. Including healing, reviving, and all other manners of gameplay centered around the combat medic.

Introduction

Hello, I am PFC Direwolf and this is a full guide on playing the combat medic role. The combat medic is essential in a variety of ways and areas of play. In coop, the medic is used to keep the fireteam alive and ready for combat, and to heal all the players up so that they can fire accurate shots. In all other gamemodes, a medic is used for the same reasons, but usually on a larger scale.

To simplify things, I will be looking at the medic role for a coop scenario.

A medic has simple rules to follow that will ensure complete usefulness in the field:
-Know your place. It is important that there is a medic in each fireteam, so it is unwise to join a team with 3 medics already operating within. As a medic, look for squads with 0-1 medics as a priority.
-Pack necessary equipment. Packing for a combat medic is very important, and one must have a perfect balance of equipment. As a medic, you wont spend much time shooting, so an average load of 5 mags will be fine. Explosives are unnecessary, however pack at least 5 smoke grenades. Try to avoid red, as that is used to designate enemy targets. It is smart to bring white smoke to cover you and blue smoke if your team is taking friendly fire. Always equip a large backpack filled with 20-30 First aid Kits as well as a single Medikit.
-Stay away from enemy fire. Nobody wants you to be a hero and attempt to dodge bullets. Sit back, wait your turn, and move when you are clear. Some servers have 'drag' or 'carry' options that allow teammates to bring casualties back to you for healing.
-Common Sense. Keep a tight mind and always be alert.

If you follow these rules closely, you will always be an effective medic. However, advanced techniques will be described later in the guide.

Healing

An important aspect of being a medic is healing. When units are injured, their aim is impacted very negatively. It is important to keep an ear out for wounded calls. Always encourage teammates to shout out that they are injured before an operation. If you see blood on a uniform, you should be jumping into action. Always treat critical injuries first, but try to work as fast as possible to ensure that teammates are quickly back in the field.

Healing is more complicated than many people believe. To explain how a proper heal should work, I will write a mock scenario.

An autorifleman in the field is hit by grenade fire. He remains silent, and tries to take cover behind a nearby rock. You notice the hit, and see the blood on his uniform, however, you are snug in nice cover 30m away, with a large open field between you. You instantly need to assess the situation. Scan the field for anything that can serve as cover. Low rock walls, small boulders, or even bushes can serve to protect. If the cover is too minimal for a safe crossing, you can always use smokes to make your own cover. You must always be asking teammates to suppress the enemies firing on your position. You sprint over in a crouch to the autorifleman. Before healing, become aware. Healing stops all movement, so you must be fully in cover. Loudly tell the patient what you are doing and order them to stop moving. This is important so they do not cancel the heal and risk both of your lives. When a person is injured, you are in command. Act like it. As soon as the heal is done you head back to your safe position, behind allied lines, and call of the suppressive fire. Most of this situation requires quick thinking. Always make the decision that will save your life as well as the subjects. Remember, if you go down, nobody is getting back up.

Reviving

Reviving is an important part of medic role. Not included in the default game, reviving has been added to many multiplayer servers throughout Arma. Reviving is a process that is less rushed than healing. Depending on the death timer, you can afford to wait until the casualty is in a safe location.
Use smokes so your teammates can bring the target back to you, or so that you have cover if the target is in the open. Many times a person dies because they are running through a field. This is why you brought 5 smokes. Pop a few on all sides of the person and get to him as safe as possible. If the subject is not in cover, inform him of what you are doing so he can react properly when he is alive. If possible, guide him to nearby cover, as he may be slightly disoriented. There is a balance between the urgency of a revive. If the medic dies, everyone else will die. However, if everyone dies and the medic is too scared to act, the medic dies as well. Make sure you are not approaching any dangerous situations without a fireteam in front of you.

Combat

Combat is in the term 'combat medic'. But it is very important to play the combat role correctly. You are without a doubt the most important part of your team, and being killed can turn an average mission into a horrible disaster. You will be equipped with a gun, and should use it. For the most part however, you should be shooting at targets that aren't shooting at you. If you come under fire, it is essential to stay down. In combat, always have an ear open. It is appropriate to pick off targets but you need to jump to medic mode if someone gets hit. Scan your team as much as the horizon. It is fully acceptable to run into a house and stay down if your team comes under fire. Your life should always be a priority, but there are some things to remember about this phrase.

-Your life does not mean your kills. Nobody cares if the medic picks off an extra rifleman if one of your men is bleeding out. Always respond to teammates.
-Your life can benefit from reviving others. If you are the last person alive, it is always smart to pick someone else up who can protect you incase things go further south.
-If an ally goes down and his position is still under attack, ie. heavy grenade fire nearby, always avoid the area until the situation has calmed down. If death timers permit, you can even wait until an engagement is over to revive a risky patient.

Hills are the worst thing for any player, especially a combat medic. Never run down the face of a hill if you are taking fire. Not only is cover usually scarce, you are preventing a massive target for enemy fire, and it is difficult to smoke screen a sloping area. Avoid running at the front of your team as well, as any surprise contact may take you out. Always stay to the rear next to someone you can trust to guard you to a degree, and only break off from them when combat begins. Take advantage of the new AI updates to force enemy fire away from you, and in a PVP scenario, always rely on human stupidity and error. But mostly, be sensible and careful.

[Echo-7 ♞]

Nice guide direwolf - S. Bakker

[Tycus]

thanks for the CLS guide, if you make anymore role guides, please mail me their links

[Hannibal]

Might recommend not grabbing red smoke- many people use this to designate close air support and it might very well get you and your comrades killed.

[Bakus]

good!

[Brad Dad]

This isn't what a medic would look like but, I haev found using a ghille suit in situations as a medic is also quite helful.

[Really Loud Teddy]

I am that engineer that Poofenator is refering too. XD even if so, this helped educate me in case one of our medics is lacking in being a good medic. Thanks for the guide!

[not scharfe]

A little bit much for the tips given in my opinion

[Direwolf]

Im glad to help! If anyone has anything else to add to this guide please say so.

[kc]

Sadly, I had come down to the 'Stupid Medic' as hinted at in this guide, and I would of stayed that way if it weren't for an Engineer, (Yes, an Engi!), for showing me this guide. I've read it all and took it all into account, have thoroughly enjoyed it, so this was a big help. I'll be sharing it with other CLS's in our group, and always looking back on it if I 'forget' or start going downhill again. Thanks, Direwolf! :-)

[Mekoides]

As CLS with my Milsim unit, this looks great. I hope you'll update this in the future for other situations. Good read, good guide! Thanks!