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4.13.1 Auxiliary Medical Personnel – U.S. Armed Forces. The recent practice of theUnited States has not been to employ persons as auxiliary medical personnel. Rather, the U.S.armed forces have employed military medical and religious personnel. 258 In addition, the U.S.armed forces have given members of the armed forces additional training in combat medicine buthave not designated them as military medical personnel or as auxiliary medical personnel. 259Thus, such personnel have not worn the distinctive emblem while engaging in medical duties,and they may be made the object of attack by the enemy.Although the recent practice of the United States has not been to employ persons asauxiliary medical personnel, the United States may later decide to employ auxiliary medicalpersonnel, and enemy military forces may employ such personnel. Moreover, certain membersof the medical corps, who do not qualify as military medical personnel because they performduties inconsistent with exclusive medical status, may be treated like auxiliary medicalpersonnel. 2604.13.2 Acquiring Auxiliary Medical Status. As with military medical and religiousstatus, members of the armed forces do not acquire auxiliary medical status simply byperforming medical duties. 261 For example, a combatant who treats fellow combatants on thebattlefield does not automatically acquire auxiliary medical status. Similarly, persons do notacquire auxiliary medical status only because they happen to have medical training.In order to acquire auxiliary medical status, a person must receive appropriate trainingand be designated as such by his or her armed forces. 262 Those armed forces must provideproper identification to such persons, including an armband and a special identity document. 2634.13.3 Auxiliary Medical Personnel – Conduct of Hostilities. Auxiliary medicalpersonnel may not be made the object of attack when carrying out their medical duties. 264258 Refer to § 4.9 (Military Medical and Religious Personnel).259 Refer to § 4.5.2.2 (Members Trained as Medical Personnel, but Not Attached to the Medical Service).260 See, e.g., W. Hays Parks, Status of Certain Medical Corps and Medical Service Corps Officers under the GenevaConventions, reprinted in THE ARMY LAWYER 5 (8) (Apr. 1989) (“U.S. Army MSC officers, AMEDDnoncommissioned officers, or other Medical Corps personnel serving in positions that do not meet the ‘exclusivelyengaged’ criteria of article 24 are not entitled to its protection but, under article 25 are entitled to protection fromintentional attack during those times in which they are performing medical support functions.”).261 Refer to § 4.9.2 (Requirements for Military Medical and Religious Status).262 GWS COMMENTARY 222 (“To be accorded immunity, auxiliary personnel must, as we have said, have receivedspecial medical training beforehand, the nature and duration of which are wisely not defined. If it is necessary tomake good a deficiency in permanent personnel, such training may even take place in wartime; but personnel fillingthis temporary role must in any case have had a real training.”).263 GWS COMMENTARY 223-24 (“To have immunity even on the battlefield, military personnel caring for thewounded had to form a distinct category—that of medical personnel—and enjoy a separate status, recognizable by adistinctive emblem and an identity card. If recourse was had to such safeguards, it was because militaryconsiderations demanded them. Otherwise the risk of abuse would have been too great. It is not straining theimagination to picture combatants approaching an enemy position, ostensibly to assist the wounded, and thenopening fire in order to seize it: similarly, a fighting unit might suddenly transform itself into a medical unit, inorder to avoid enemy fire.”).137