U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence hosts milestone open graduation ceremony

Credit: Jose Rodriguez | Date Taken: 08/03/2021
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –Army Medicine soldiers assigned to the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE), graduated from Advanced Individual Training (AIT), as fully qualified 68W Combat Medics today, August 3, 2021 at Joint Base San Antonio- Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The 68W Combat Medics, the second largest Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in the U.S. Army, have been at Fort Sam for 16 weeks of medic training, immediately following their Basic Combat Training. To graduate, the soldier medics underwent difficult training assessing their proficiency in both emergency medical treatment and combat trauma care. With over 200 soldiers graduating in formation on Fort Sam’s main post parade field, nearly 250 friends and family able to attend in-person, and another 300 watching virtually, today’s graduation was a milestone: the first large-scale, outdoor open graduation hosted by the command since the 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic began.