and oversee the medical care of the soldiers assigned to them which can be anywhere from 30 to 60 Soldiers. They become a part of the group they are assigned to an with the exception of a few tasks, they do everything that their assigned soldiers do from training to missions. They are the ones who would be the first to treat an injured person and direct their immediate medical care, and are often the first to recognize when something is wrong with one of their soldiers because they spend so much time with them. They may also be the subject matter expert in advising leaders of medical planning for missions. Their co-location with the troops they are assigned allows them to easily monitor ongoing health. Being a line medic requires them to carry whatever a regular soldier carries, in addition to an aid bag and other medical supplies. These medics must be very physically fit, and able to function well in highly stressful tactical situations. They are expected to be very independent and function on their own as extensions of the provider. They make field diagnosis and manage the conditions appropriately, deferring to the provider when necessary. In the U.S. armed forces, service members in line units often refer to their assigned combat medic or hospital corpsman as "Doc." Geneva Convention protection In 1864, sixteen European states adopted the first-ever Geneva Convention to save lives and alleviate the suffering of wounded and sick persons in the battlefield, as well as to protect trained medical personnel as non-combatants, in the act of rendering aid. Chapter IV, Article 25 of the Geneva Convention states that: "Members of the armed forces specially trained for employment, should the need arise, as hospital orderlies, nurses or auxiliary stretcher-bearers, in the search for or the collection, transport or treatment of the wounded and sick shall likewise be respected and protected if they are carrying out these duties at the time when they come into contact with the enemy or fall into his hands." Article 29 reads: "Members of the personnel designated in Article 25 who have fallen into the hands of the enemy, shall be prisoners of war, but shall be employed on their medical duties insofar as the need arises." According to the Geneva Convention, knowingly firing at a medic wearing clear insignia is a war crime. In modern times, most combat medics carry