Petite army medic shoulders big role

[old medic]

Petite army medic shoulders big role
Small in stature, soldier definitely holds her own
By Ethan Baron, Canwest News Service
19 April 2010

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Petite+army+medic+shoulders+role/2923167/story.html

Master Cpl. Mike Cuevas caught sight of his company's new combat medic, and he had doubts.

He'd fought in Afghanistan's heat, climbed over head-high mud walls, leaped water-filled ditches, scrambled to firing positions under incoming rounds, all carrying upwards of 40 kilograms of gear.

The woman standing in front of him stood five feet, one-half-inch. She weighed about the same as his battle kit.

Cpl. Marnie Musson had turned up in Shilo, Man., in 2008 for training exercises with the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry -- fresh off the boat after almost five years posted to the Canadian navy.

Cuevas knew that as a medic on patrol in Afghanistan, she'd be bearing nearly her own weight through extreme terrain and temperatures.

"Normally I don't judge people, but . . . I thought she was really tiny for her job," Cuevas says. "She looks like a little kid."

Charlie Company's commander had similar qualms. "When I met her I thought her equipment would weigh more than she would and I was somewhat concerned," says Maj. Wade Rutland.

Musson, 26, says she herself had doubts she'd be selected to work as a medic attached to the "dismounted" foot patrols usually made up of strapping young men. "I was very shocked when I got the job. I'm not your typical dismount," Musson says.

Musson was born in Winnipeg, and while growing up, also lived in North Bay, Ont.; Lahr, Germany; and Edmonton, moving when her father, who was also in the Canadian Forces.

At first, Musson seemed unsure of herself, Cuevas recalls. When ordered to give first-aid training to company troops, "She just kind of looked at me like a lost puppy."

Then he watched her research every aspect of her new job.

By the time the company was to deploy to Afghanistan, she'd earned the position of lead company medic, which carried a tour-specific promotion to master corporal.

Charlie Company arrived this fall at the fortified Canadian outpost of Sperwan Ghar, and any lingering doubts about Musson's capabilities vanished in the surrounding villages, fields and desert of the infamously violent Panjwaii district.

"Where she started to really prove herself was when we got on the ground here and she started going out on patrols," says Cuevas, 37.

Wearing a flak vest with heavy armour plates front and back, carrying her assault rifle and five spare magazines, plus a rucksack and tactical vest filled with medical supplies, Musson must keep pace for up to 15 hours at a time. On overnight operations, she adds a sleeping bag, pad, ration packs, and as much as seven kilograms of water.

Combat-effectiveness standards dictate that a soldier should carry a maximum of 33 per cent of body weight, Rutland says. "She's carrying about 80 (per cent), and she's still effective."

Musson, though she rounds up her height to five-foot-one, is quick to admit that her size poses challenges when crossing Panjwaii's countless mud walls and the ditches called "wadis" that are often full of filthy water. "I'll look at the wadi and I'll be like, 'Am I going to make this?' " says Musson. "It sucks falling in."

Two months after arriving, her patrol ran into an ambush near a graveyard a few hundred metres from the base. Insurgents opened up with AK-47s. Musson stood behind a grapevine berm and joined her comrades in returning fire. The war was becoming ever more real.

Already, she had treated grievous injuries inflicted by the Taliban's most prevalent weapon, the improvised-explosive device. A soldier had stepped on an IED near the base. One leg was gone below the knee, the other lower leg blasted to "mush," Musson recalls. Two months later, the troops at Sperwan Ghar heard an explosion on a base-access road. When she reached the scene, she saw the victim was a soldier she'd known for a year. His skull was fractured, and the field medic had put a tourniquet on his arm, which was blown open above the elbow, with shrapnel wounds in the forearm.

Musson says she doesn't feel traumatized by those incidents. "On both occasions the casualties were awake and talking, so I think that made it . . . easier to handle."

On patrols, she draws attention from village kids who have never seen a woman carrying a gun. The girls flock to her, Rutland says. "Here's someone that's a great example for these young ladies, a strong female figure that's out doing a great job."

And Cuevas, who once had doubts about Musson, has nothing but admiration for the woman who has become one of his closest friends.

"She's stubborn enough not to quit, and that's what counts," Cuevas says. "She's got a good heart."

 

[PMedMoe]

Good on her.  Although, one has to ask, would they have made as big a deal if the medic had been a small male?

 

[GAP]

Good on her.  Although, one has to ask, would they have made as big a deal if the medic had been a small male?

So where would the story be in that...."Pipsqueek medic works outside the wire" doesn't ring....but sex sales... ;D

 

[Yrys]

I wish her "merde" for her tour.

"Combat-effectiveness standards dictate that a soldier should carry a maximum of 33 per cent of body weight"

Do the soldiers get weight with their rudsack to check it out ?

 

[PMedMoe]

So where would the story be in that...."Pipsqueek medic works outside the wire" doesn't ring....but sex sales... ;D

Not so much "sex sells" but, "oh, she's a small female, she might not be able to do this" came to my mind.  If it were a male, you're right, where's the story?  :

"Combat-effectiveness standards dictate that a soldier should carry a maximum of 33 per cent of body weight"

:rofl:  (Sorry)

Depending on the weight of the soldier, some are carrying considerably more than 33% of their weight.
Unfortunately, when a BFT is done based on "weight" as opposed to a "kit list", that all goes right out the window.

Do the soldiers get weight with their rudsack to check it out ?

No.  Most people figure out the best way to pack their kit after a few marches/exercises, etc.

 

[Gunner98]

This small-size medic is not the first to impress the doubters, she is just the latest to receive deserved recognition.  She is a credit to her Branch and of course to her family/roots, both prepared her well for the challenges (and doubters) in life.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

Good on her.  Although, one has to ask, would they have made as big a deal if the medic had been a small male?

Nope, but we'll take any "good" story we can get the media to press.......................

 

[PMedMoe]

Hey, I'm not against the article and I think she's an asset to the trade (and the CF).  I'm just mocking the media. 

 

[Journeyman]

......and you're short  >

 

[Armymedic]

Everyone,

Just remember; the media never "makes" the story, they just report them.

:

:yellow:

 

[PMedMoe]

......and you're short  >

I'm not short, I'm fun-sized!!

Good things come in small packages, as does dynamite. 

 

[HollywoodHitman]

When all was said and done, I was happy to find out this wasn't an advertisement for another TLC or Discovery Channel show on little people....Little Hospital in the Desert..... (Little Chocolatiers, Little People Big World etc).....

More proof that what you see isn't always what you get, and that determination and professionalism can allow just about anyone to do great things. For the medic, thanks for being out there and not only looking after yourself and being in the fight, but the troops.

HH

 

[40below]

She'll still tower over many CF-18 pilots  ;D

 

[The Bread Guy]

As my mom used to say, "the best wine comes from the smallest barrels".

 

[Old Sweat]

As I said when I sent this to a friend of mine (ex-US Army SF), you don't measure guts and ability with a ruler.

 

[JackieGirl]

... is it bad that I thought "wow, she's TALL" when  read about her height?!

This post just made me crack up into the HUGEST grin ever (I'm four foot nine when I'm not slouching).  A lot of people worry that I'm gonna be STEPPED ON during Basic- this just shows that if you got what it takes, you'll do alright. I've lurked her for a couple days, but this post is reply worthy, I think! I'm a tiny little shrimp, myself- but I know for a FACT that size don't matter.


Cheers, all!

-Jackie.

 

[Sparkplugs]

... is it bad that I thought "wow, she's TALL" when  read about her height?!

This post just made me crack up into the HUGEST grin ever (I'm four foot nine when I'm not slouching).  A lot of people worry that I'm gonna be STEPPED ON during Basic- this just shows that if you got what it takes, you'll do alright. I've lurked her for a couple days, but this post is reply worthy, I think! I'm a tiny little shrimp, myself- but I know for a FACT that size don't matter.


Cheers, all!

-Jackie.

You'll do fine!  Sometimes it's easier to be small on basic.  The 6-foot wall is a challenge, just picture yourself as a monkey, hahaha.  I'm 5 feet tall in my boots, so I know where you're coming from.  ;D

 

[FastEddy]

... is it bad that I thought "wow, she's TALL" when  read about her height?!

This post just made me crack up into the HUGEST grin ever (I'm four foot nine when I'm not slouching).  A lot of people worry that I'm gonna be STEPPED ON during Basic- this just shows that if you got what it takes, you'll do alright. I've lurked her for a couple days, but this post is reply worthy, I think! I'm a tiny little shrimp, myself- but I know for a FACT that size don't matter.


Cheers, all!

-Jackie.

Your right ! size doesn't matter. but just out of curiosity, have you considered taking your RN, you sound like a perfit candidate.

Cheers.

 

[dimsum]

With regards to RN, possibly ROTP (Nursing) may be a good option.

 

[JackieGirl]

I am considering going for RN, actually! It's a bit up in the air at this point, but I would like to do something in the med field, you know? I've been looking at ROTP, as well as joining the reserve artillery, before remustering to med tech on the regular force.

Hmmm. I'm a wee bit intrigued at why FastEddy has deemed me a perfect candidate for nursing... heh, are MOST nurses short and hyperactive? 

Haha, and thanks, Sparkplugs- us short people know what it's like. 

-Jackie.