The Army recently came out with the Army Technician Badge, which allows one of three Technician bars under what was the “Drivers Badge” pictured above.

   Why should a 68W or other 68 series get the Technician Badge? This helps with promotion points, as well as to incentivize those to get certifications related to their career. Without this, certifications aren’t incentivized, despite the wealth of information they provide to our patient care and effort required to obtain. This also helps motivate those already with NRP or SOCM to get their CCP and FPC to help advance their critical care for PCC/PFC.

Section 1 – Am I eligible? Criteria for Basic, Senior, Master

Section 2 – List of certifications

Section 3 – How to submit

Section 4 – Ways to get (more) certifications

“Am I eligible to get the Technician Badge?”

The badge is structured into three levels, each with specific requirements:

●      Basic Technician Badge: Awarded after a Soldier accumulates 12 months of MOS experience in an operational environment and completes one certification in accordance with the applicable Career Management Field (CMF) or MOS listing on Credentialing Opportunities On-Line (COOL)

●      Senior Technician Badge: Conferred after achieving 24 months of operational experience and acquiring at least four certifications relevant to their job specialty.

●      Master Technician Badge: Awarded after achieving 48 months of operational experience and acquiring at least seven certifications relevant to their job specialty.

“What certifications are eligible?”

 Below is the list. Keep in mind it is MOS applicable, so a cert for a 68T Vet Tech isn’t the same for a 68W. Click here to view the official document they come from, or for 68 MOS besides 68W.

68W Applicable Certs:  (We bolded ones that we personally felt are more useful to 68W performance, and italicized ones that are easier wins but may not add as much value as bold.)

ACRP Certified Professional (ACRP-CP)

ACRP Project Manager (ACRP-PM)

Adult & Pediatric Allergy & Immunology Subspecialty Certification

Advanced Cardiac Sonographer (ACS)

Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT)

Advanced Registered Addiction Specialist – Level II (RAS II)

Advanced Registered Addiction Specialist – Level III (RAS III)

Assistive Technology Professional (ATP)

Associate – Infection Prevention and Control (a-PIC)

Certification for Long Term Monitoring (CLTM)

Certification for Neurophysiological Intraoperative Monitoring (CNIM)

Certification in Clinical Perfusion (CCP)

Certification in Clinical Sleep Health (CCSH)

Certification in Neonatal Pediatric Transport (C-NPT)

Certified Cardiac Device Specialist for the Allied Professional (CCDS)

Certified Cardiographic Technician (CCT)

Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician (CCHT)

Certified Clinical Research Associate (CCRA)

Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC)

Certified Continence Care Nurse (CCCN)

Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS)

Certified Documentation Improvement Practitioner (CDIP)

Certified EKG Technician (CET)

Certified Electronic Health Record Specialist (CEHRS)

Certified Electrophysiology Specialist for the Allied Professional (CEPS)

Certified Emergency Nurse (CEN)

Certified Eye Bank Technician (CEBT)

Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES)

Certified Health Physicist (CHP)

Certified Home Care & Hospice Executive (CHCE)

Certified Human Factors Professional (CHFP)

Certified Lactation Counselor (CLC)

Certified Mastectomy Fitter

Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)

Certified Medical Illustrator (CMI)

Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI)

Certified Medical Laboratory Assistant (CMLA)

Certified Nerve Conduction Technologist (CNCT)

Certified Orthotic Fitter (COF)

Certified Ostomy Care Nurse (COCN)

Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A)

Certified Pediatric Emergency Nurse (CPEN)

Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR)

Certified Peritoneal Dialysis Nurse (CPDN)

Certified Phlebotomy Technician (CPT)

Certified Polysomnographic Technician (CPSGT)

Certified Principal Investigator (CPI)

Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE)

Certified Rhythm Analysis Technician (CRAT)

Certified Transport Registered Nurse (CTRN)

Certified Urology Associate (CUA)

Certified Wound Care Associate (CWCA)

Certified Wound Care Nurse (CWCN)

Certified Wound Ostomy Continence Nurse (CWOCN)

Certified Wound Ostomy Nurse (CWON)

Certified Wound Specialist (CWS)

Clinical Medical Assistant Certification (CMAC)

Community Paramedic Certification (CP-C)

Critical Care Paramedic Certification (CCP-C)

Diplomate of the International Academy of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine (DIANM)

Diving Medical Technician (DMT)

Dual Certification in Rheumatology and Allergy and Immunology

EKG Technician Certification (ETC)

Electronic Fetal Monitoring (C-EFM)

Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

Flight Paramedic Certification (FP-C)Fluoroscopy Exam

Home Care Coding Specialist – Diagnosis (HCS-D)

Inpatient Obstetric Nursing (RNC- OB)

Legal Nurse Consultant Certified (LNCC)

Low Risk Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (RNC-LRN)

Masters Level – Registered Addiction Specialist (M-RAS)

Maternal Newborn Nursing (RNC- MNN)

Medical Assistant Certification (MAC)

Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS)

Medication Aide Certification Examination (MACE)

National Certified ECG Technician (NCET)

National Certified Medical Assistant (NCMA)

National Certified Patient Care Technician (NCPCT)

National Council Licensure Examination for Practical/Vocational Nurses (NCLEX-PN)

National Registered Paramedic (NRP) (and you get an ASI for this)

Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (RNC-NIC)

Nursing Assistant Certification (NAC)

Patient Care Technician Certification (PCTC)

Phlebotomy Technician Certification (PTC)

Registered Cardiac Electrophysiology Specialist (RCES)

Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS)

Registered Congenital Cardiac Sonographer (RCCS)

Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)

Registered Nerve Conduction Study Technologist (R.NCS.T.)

Registered Phlebology Sonographer (RPhS)

Registered Phlebotomy Technician (RPT)

Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT)

Registered Vascular Specialist (RVS)

Registration for Electroencephalographic Technologists (R. EEG T.)

Registration for Evoked Potential Technologists (R. EP T.)

Regulatory Affairs Certification – Medical Devices (RAC-Devices)

Regulatory Affairs Certification – Pharmaceuticals (RAC-Drugs)

Sleep Disorders Specialist (CRT-SDS / RRT-SDS)

Tactical Paramedic Certification (TP- C)

Tactical Responder Certification (TR- C)

Trauma Certified Registered Nurse (TCRN)

Wilderness Paramedic Certification (WP-C)

Wound Care Certification (WCC)

If you don’t see a credential that you feel should be on here, submit it to COOL website.

“Okay, I have one or more of those and the time requirement. How do I get this approved to wear on my uniform?”

  Hopefully we can update this with screenshots, but for now you will have to use the following steps to route through your unit using a “PAR” in IPPSA… meaning after you talk to your first line you will have to do this yourself and route it through your S-1.

1.) IPPS-A

2.) My Personnel Action Requests

3.) Create Personnel Action

4.) Admin Correction

5.) Reason – “Other”

6.) Other Type- “Technician Badge”

7.) Under more information, copy and pasted the direct quote from AR 600-8-22. You could also attach the page from the reference in the next step, and your certifications that qualify as well. I recommend attaching the AMEDD Memorandum of Proponent Approved Certifications.  Highlight the certs you have and omit the pages not needed to make it quicker and easier to approve.

 Then it’s just a couple clicks to validate the request and send to your S1 who routes it.

8.) Expect it to be kicked back for corrections or other information. Being patient and cordial with S-1 will help this process along. This is new so you may be one of the first medics submitting this in your unit.

Approved and S-1 can’t find?

On the S1 HR manager portal

-Go to SM profile with Employee ID

-Select “Add New Combat & Skill Badge”

•  search “description” change value from “begins with” to “contains”

-search for “tech” that brings up the three options, TechB is the basic.

***Updated to include screenshot of AR 600-8-22… even though you should be able to find this***

Attach this to PAR w/ Memo and Cert(s)

“I don’t know how to get any (more) of these certifications.”

   You can use the Army COOL website to see what certifications you can get the Army to pay for as an individual. Your unit senior medic could also see about getting some of these funded as group classes. If your unit has enough medics with NRP already, they can pay for prep courses for medics to get their CCP or FPC, which we highly recommend to up your prolonged field care capability. Your unit can also pay for the exam in some cases, or have service member pay for the exam through COOL or can as a backup pay themselves to challenge the exam, refresh on a certification, or take if they failed initial attempt.

Let us know if you got yours and send photos of it on your AGSU. Let us know what certificates you recommend for which 68 series MOS or not, and anything else we could add.

If you have used this article, then DM us or email the NCO’s below who got us this information, using global Army email. It would be nice to see how many we helped.

SFC Randy Brandt  – 68W3P

SFC Jason Brown, SWCS – 68WW1