 Why do you want to compete and spend three days just in the dirt and tired and working so hard? What is it about it that you like that so much? You put me in an aid station or a hospital and I will go nuts. On this episode of Soldiers, we find out what it takes to be crowned the best medic in the United States Army. I'm looking forward to seeing the suffering. So you take a certain amount of joy in that, don't you? You're going to be a little sadistic when it comes to creating competitions. Team 25! Because if you don't make it challenging, if you don't make it worth a flight to get here, then why even have it? We linked up with two soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division who were back for a second chance. As soon as they announced it, I looked at Jared and I told them like, hey, we're coming back again. Him and I have one of those love-hate relationships. The things that are really good with us and there's just like... Grab the f***ing gun! All the teams that were here to compete in the best medic were talented. But fighting a team that wanted to come back and go through this insanity again, this was a no-brainer. It's 7.30 and we are heading to Camp Bullis. Camp Bullis is where the best medic competition is. And tonight is the last few things you're going to do before they kick the events off tomorrow. And we are... We're going to pay particular attention to a group of soldiers from the 10th Mountain. It's two soldiers and they actually competed last year so they're back for more. So let me ask you, did you join when your first enlistment was, did you come in as a medic? I did. Okay. What drew you to that? My dad told me when I was joining the Army, my dad said, join anything that's not infantry. He didn't want me to do an infantry and I thought I'd be slick because I knew the medics worked with infantry so I became a medic just as a way to underhandedly be aware of the infantry. Yeah, yeah. And what about you? What was your draw? Did you come in as a medic too? Yeah, I came in as a medic. I had a brother who was in the medic who was in the Air Force. He was a... I don't know why I did it, honestly. I picked a job that like they offered me a bunch of jobs like man maybe that job could transfer over to something when I get out. And I was like, yeah, it's gonna be a medic. I love it. So when we cover a competition like this, it's really important that the crew doesn't get in the way. So after talking to them for a couple of minutes, we figured it would be best to leave them alone, let them get their rest because they were gonna need it. These that I see here, are they... On the first day of the competition, we met Master Sergeant Mike Eldred. Now he's the mastermind behind this whole thing. He'd been planning this competition for two years. Let's take a step back and tell me a little bit about the history of the best medic competition. How long has it been going on and when did it start? It started in the 80s as the expert field medical competition. One, two, three. It was an opportunity for us to take the best of the best and demonstrate their knowledge and skills. I think what I'm seeing is there's a real desire to test them on all levels. Physical, mental, we're testing cognitive abilities, we're testing their ability to think. And at the end of the day... And their emotional level. There are certain circumstances where they're gonna have reaction, emotional reactions that will be part of their stress level. Because combat is unpredictable. That's right. That's right. Yeah, it gets on. Yeah. We're trying to incorporate agile, adaptive thinking process, using a critical thinking process into their decisions. I'm looking forward to seeing the suffering. So you take a certain amount of joy in that, don't you? It's gonna be a little sadistic when it comes to creating competitions. Because if you don't make it challenging, if you don't make it worth the flight, you know, to get here, then why even have it? So there are some guys that are coming back. They're repeat clients. What does it say about those guys? They come. They play. They're masochists. They're masochists. All 32 teams take a series of fitness tests. The better you do, the earlier you start. It's literally a race against time to finish all the lanes. Now our team from the 10th mountain ended up in the middle of the pack, so they kind of got a late start. Walk me through that first day of activities that you've experienced. What happened? As soon as we got down, took fire from our north, had to return fire and bound into cover, which was a wood line, 150 meters out. Him and I have one of those love-hate relationships. See if things are either really good with us and there's like 10-minute stretches where I want to knock your teeth out. Ready? Let's go. Grab each other by the throat, but you know, at the end of it, we went through it together and, you know, it helps you build a new relationship. Something you mentioned yesterday was we've done a lot of sucky stuff together. Yeah. Yeah, it's good. We make a good team. We drag him to the wood line, treat him some more. Transitions to a Skegco, which is a flexible litter that you can use for hoisting operations. Let's go. Tell me about why you're here again this year. How did that come to be? We're here last year, obviously. We competed and we were sitting, we knew that we weren't, like, you know, maybe we're not winning, whatever. We just want to get it over with. Close call. We were in the auditorium for the ceremony, obviously, and they announced the winners. As soon as they announced the winner, I looked at Jared and I told him, like, hey, like, we're coming back again. Moved in a little bit far, maybe 50 meters. I came up to a 30-foot cliff. Go, Vanley! You ready? We hooked in, we hooked our patient in, and we repelled with them and it was awesome. I really appreciate that part of the lesson because not all medics really get that training. It's something I thoroughly believe they should be implemented and I'm glad they tested it. We came out to the pseudolanes. I picked that mannequin up and I was like, wow, that's heavy. I think it's like 180 pounds or whatever. But yeah, it's... And you've got two people working it. It's not that bad. Especially down here in the creek, you know, it goes pretty smooth over the rock, so there's not a lot of friction there. So what's you guys... I don't want to take too much more time, but when you think about pacing yourselves and moving through the next thing and the next thing, how do you approach that? You just feel each other out and say, hey, I feel pretty good. Let's keep moving. Let's do some planning. Take a knee or what? Yeah, that's what we did last year and that's what we'll probably continue to do this year. We just talk, you know, hey man, I need a break. For the next phase, Evans and Sheets had to navigate through the woods for five miles undetected, so we couldn't go with them. But we took this opportunity to meet some mountain warfare school instructors from the National Guard, Sergeant First Class Bert Severin and Staff Sergeant Andreas Bond Webster. What does it mean to you to be here competing as a best medic? I love competition. That's what I thrive on. Just to kind of prove it to myself that I can still do it. I haven't slacked that much on my skills. How long have you two been working together as a team? Mostly about three weeks. Really? Yeah. How's he doing? Can you talk to us now? I'm the old guy on the team and he's the young pretty face, I guess. Verti-Q. That's how we encourage each other. Old guy, the fat kid, in a good-natured way, of course. You've been through some lanes, has there been anything that has been particularly challenging for you guys that you can think about? I will say, and I could show you my hands to the camera, but the terrain here is incredibly difficult. The brush, the vegetation is out there to stop you at all costs. Just ask our camera guy. Why do you think this kind of competition is important for the Army medical community? It kind of puts a spotlight on what we are actually capable of and kind of all the different facets that we have to our job. A lot of times, if you're a line medic, you're more often than not an infantryman first. And then once bullets start flying and people actually get hurt, that's when you become the medic. So you're an integral part of the group that way, but it's nice to kind of put that in the forefront and make that something that is seen throughout the Army. You need to have something to strive for, right? And everybody wants to be the best of the best. So this is the perfect venue to throw out there, and it's Army-wide, which is a huge organization. And I think that says it all, something to strive for. The team spent 36 hours on Sergeant Eldridge's gauntlet of lanes before they got their first break. But it wouldn't be long before their next event. It's 0-3-30 on day three of the Army best medic competition at 0-100. The team started a foot march. Now what they don't know is how long it was going to be. It's actually 12 miles. A lot of them were talking yesterday like they thought it was going to be 18. But that's the mental part of this that they just got to keep pushing through. The other thing is that this is only the beginning of another full day of things that are going to stress them and tax them to their limit. Team 25. Our team from the 10th mountain finished in the top seven of the foot march. It wasn't that bad. Yeah, it wasn't bad. Our feet held up pretty good, so that's good. Now you get the rest of the... Now you get the rest of the knee-peat rings. That's right. Up hill. I'll go the entire way, yeah. There are other people saying that, you know? Yeah, that was the only really bad part about it was that it's uphill. Aside from that, it wasn't too terrible. I heard there on the road march, there was someone who actually dropped out and then said, forget it, we're going to get back in. There might have been something like that. There was a team that felt kind of tested the waters in that, but they realized they were the first team to quit. And there would have been if they had done that. And they decided that that wasn't for them. So they turned it back on. The National Guard eventually crossed the line. No worse for the wearer. Finish. All good. Yeah. All your feet holding up on. Pretty free turn up. Yeah, I bet. And ride. As the sun comes up on the final day of the competition, the teams still have no idea where they stand. But that just means that the title of best medic is still up for grabs. So today, Sheets and Evans will get their weapons, zero them in, compete in a series of shooting lanes, and then a mystery event. So what is it about a competition like this that draws you and Jarrett to it? I mean, why do you want to compete and spend three days just in the dirt and tired and working so hard? What is it about it that you like that so much? I like being like, I'm a really physical person. I love being physical. I love being outdoors. I love doing stuff like this. I'm the kind of guy like, you put me in an aid station or a hospital and I will go nuts. Maybe I'm not a better medic, but being here, I have at least the potential to be a better leader because I can take the things that we've done here. I can go back and I can teach them to my medics. So you see that this competition has an inherent value for the medical community as a whole. Oh yeah, absolutely. What are some of the character traits? What makes up a combat medic? They're not people that are seeking glory. We're the type of people that are more likely to rush to the sound of gunfire. It does take a special sort of type of person. I was probably never like this before I joined the Army, but you know, I became a medic and I was assigned my first platoon, Biko 128 infantry. Those are your guys and they depend on you. And it's just having that like, you know, these guys are, you know, they really need me. Just I guess that sense of like, it's a pretty indescribable feeling. I don't know. I love, I just love it. I enjoy helping people and the fact that I can change someone's life drastically for the better is, it's awesome. I do want to ask you how you think you did this year? I think we did a lot better than we did last year. My partner is going to say we did top five. I like to, I'm more of a cautious person. I like to say we were in top ten. Last year we took 11th this year. I'm thinking we did better than we did. This is something the crew and I talked about a lot and that is where these guys are going to end up. At the end of the day, we thought they'd place in the top five. A compassionate heart, a sound mind, a skilled hand, a deadly shot, and yes, a strong back. Shoot, move, communicate, survive, save and adapt. That's our art and that's our science. So our second place team from the 10th Mountain Division, Sergeant Jared Sheets and Sergeant Matthew. We found out they took second place. Man, we were so excited and I think they were too. But the thing I take away the most is something that Sergeant Sheets said when he said, I may not be the best medic, but what I learned will make me a better leader and I think that's true of every soldier that competed here.