I'm Prior Service coming from the Air Force and I currently have my Medical Assisting Certification. Can someone give me info on 68D. What was the AIT school like? I heard that anyone in the medical field are the first ones to go to Iraq. What are are the expectation for an E-4 in 68D. Also, where am I likely to stationed

Major duties. The operating room specialist assists the nursing staff in preparing the patient and the operating room environment for surgery and for providing assistance to the medical staff during surgical procedures. They also operate the centralized material service and are responsible for preparing and maintaining sterile medic al supplies and special equipment for medical treatment facilities. The operating room specialist also assists in the management of operating room suites.

(1) Skill Level 1. Assists in preparing patients and operating room environments for surgery and provides assistance to the medical staff during surgical procedures. Performs various preoperative and postoperative procedures as directed. Maintains the cleanliness of the operating room and sets up sterile fields for surgical procedures. Receives, cleans, decontaminates, sterilizes, stores and issues various medical supplies and equipment used during surgical procedures.


The Skill Level 1 description is a general idea of your duties as an E-4. Depending on your unit, it could be more or less.

You could be stationed anywhere. You might be in an actual hospital, or in a field unit.

Go into the Army with the mindset that you will deploy. If you are not prepared to go to a combat zone immediately after AIT, do not enlist.

Overall, it's a good job if you can stomach the gore. Good luck!

To me that doesnt sound hard. I did that working in a doctor's office, assisting with minor surgies. So then the basic's of AIT is Medical Asepis and things of that nature. Are there any taking of vital sign?

Also, what is a field unit? I guess the name speaks for it's self, but would I be in the field each day if, I was to work out there? Would it be field conditions everyday?

How would deployment conditions be for 68D?
I think of deployment for the Medical field in a tent and very demanding. Patients going into surgery is a process. So I guess my question is: Would it be like it is on television?

So basically a field unit is a combat unit like an infantry unit or their support units. What I think the other guy was talking about is a combat support hospital or csh. Those are the unit that are the main hospitals in Iraq and Afganistan. you will most likely end up at a normal fixed facility hospital though.