Heralding our heroes

THEY are called Voodoo Medics not because they perform magic but because they practice the science of medicine under the toughest conditions on earth: on the frontlines of war.

The nickname for the tiny group of combat medics assigned to Australia’s Special Operations Command is not sanctioned by the military brass and was coined a decade ago to describe the soldiers saving lives in Afghanistan with nothing but what they could carry.

“You don’t have the luxury of definitive care; you don’t have all of the bells and whistles, medical equipment. You are it when push comes to shove,” said Corporal Jody Tieche, one of the elite fraternity who served two tours of Afghanistan in 2007-08.

The name was coined by one of Australia’s most decorated combat medics, Sergeant John Walter, during a deployment to Afghanistan, when he drew a small voodoo doll logo and mated it with the phrase ‘Dominating the Dark Arts’, to describe the act of providing medical support to the special forces.

Their motto is a promise to the elite fighters they werve with: “We’ll do the voodoo, so you can do what you do.”