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Military Medics Train for the Mission, Get Educated for a Lifetime

  • Published
  • Health.mil Staff
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas --  When Bob Miller considered being a medical student more than 30 years ago, he had no idea where that path would lead him.

"Prior to attending medical school, I had no involvement with the military," he said.

But now, as the director of education and training for the Defense Health Agency and the commandant of the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC) at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, he wears a star on his shoulder as an Air Force brigadier general.  Miller oversees nearly 50 separate basic and advanced Army, Navy and Air Force enlisted medical courses of study at METC which graduates up to 20,000 medics, corpsmen, and medical technicians for the U.S. military each year.

"I was not an academy grad or [Reserve Officers' Training Corps] student, but I chose to go to the Uniformed Services University (USU) for medical school and learned in a tri-service environment. So coming back now to METC as the commandant is a unique opportunity to work in a joint-service environment," says Miller.

Miller was no stranger to the campus before he took over in the commandant's role. Prior stops in his career included a tour as the command surgeon for Air Education and Training Command, just across town at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. He says while he was involved with METC for the last couple of years in that job, he was looking at the school from primarily an Air Force perspective. Now as the leader of this multi-service environment, an environment he points out he has experience working in as the command surgeon for U.S. Africa Command, he also sees the importance of making sure that medical folks learn common skills that will stay with them long after they hang up whatever uniform they wear.

"We want to train our students for the mission, but also educate them for a lifetime of service to our nation, her people, and the communities we call home," explains Miller, pointing out that medical care is medical care, no matter the color of your uniform. "Medicine is the great equalizer. The way you care for patients is fairly consistent, regardless of the service. It's just when you throw in some of those unique mission requirements is when we have to make sure we are meeting the needs of the combatant commanders and the services."

In training students for the military mission, each service has its unique challenges. Miller points to the Army's combat medics, who are more geared for frontline, combat care, as opposed to a Navy corpsman, who might be isolated on a ship, or an Air Force medical technician, who might be working at a remote clinic supporting a flightline. But he says in this joint world that includes missions where all of the services are deployed together, having students from the different military branches train on some common areas makes sense so everyone is singing off that same medical sheet of music. "The readiness mission is a big driver. We want to make sure our medics are comfortable in a joint environment and able to complete the mission, regardless of the location.  In all cases and in all services METC personnel must be ready to apply their technical craft in complex and dynamic situations." 

As far as educating for a lifetime, military officials want to make sure the skills their medical folks learn translate into the civilian world. Miller says the quality training at METC has always matched what civilian counterparts learn and do, but recognition of the educational credit needed to get a civilian job upon leaving the military has been lacking. METC is now looking into academic affiliation opportunities that would help students obtain degrees for their hard work.

"The training has always been stellar. The problem is they don't always have the right certification based on civilian accreditation standards. I believe we can do both; train for the mission and educate for a lifetime," says Miller.

He added that more than 200 bridge programs in 30 states have been or are being developed with civilian programs, to make sure the education being offered at METC is recognized as meeting the same professional standards required by organizations outside of the military, such as universities and colleges, state boards of nursing and allied health specialties, higher education coordinating boards, and a myriad of practice credentialing bodies. He points to the Health Resources and Services Administration grant program that is allowing medics, corpsmen, and aeromedical technicians to become registered nurses much faster than before.  "Perhaps this is the best example of how consolidation of efforts across departments and with civilian organizations brings value to both the military and post military communities."  But he is quick to point out that "we can and are doing more." 

What's more is these programs have been recognized for their rigor by organizations such as the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, the American Association of Colleges of Nurses, and the Office of the President of the United States.  Not surprisingly, METC subject matter experts have been tapped for duty with the White House Roundtables on Veterans Credentialing, the White House Forum on Military Credentialing, and the National Governor's Association Policy Academy.  In this capacity METC personnel work with DoD, state, and federal leaders to shape policy and legislation in support of the military and civilian community.  Miller says, "METC is where military personnel start their healthcare training.  It's far more valuable to the military and the nation to do it right the first time, which also brings value to Guard and Reserve trainees who go back to their communities just after being trained at METC."

Miller beams with pride as he talks about the soldiers, sailors and airmen who make up the approximately 6,500 students on his campus on any given day. His office is right next to the dining facility, so he sees the troops marching in formations, singing the "jody cadences" and reminding him of METC's mission to make sure those young men and women are trained for a mission ... and educated for a lifetime.

"It reminds me very clearly why I'm here and what it's all about."