PDA

View Full Version : Hospital's senior enlisted marks hospital corps birthday



thedrifter
06-22-04, 10:54 AM
Hospital's senior enlisted marks hospital corps birthday
June 21,2004
TIMMI TOLER
DAILY NEWS STAFF

While the names Robert Bush, George Whalen, William Charrette and Don Ballard may not be as well recognized as that of George S. Patton or Chesty Puller, Command Master Chief James Tubbs said that first list of names also represents shining examples of military service.

"Those are men who, in combat, performed gallantly and were recognized by the highest award this country has to offer," said Tubbs, referring to the four sailors who were awarded the Medal of Honor. "When you say those names to hospital corpsman, they know who they are and what they've accomplished."

And Tubbs said remembering past hospital corpsman is one of the reasons it's so important to commemorate the birthday of the hospital corps every year on June 17 - this year marks the 106th.

"It's a celebration of service … and also an opportunity for older hospital corpsman to reflect on what they've done and an opportunity for younger corpsman to learn about history," said Tubbs. "They remind sailors of their mission and why being a hospital corpsman is so important. It's more than a job."

Stepping into the role as new command master chief at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, Tubbs said over the years, there have been few changes in the role of the hospital corpsman; however, there has been a much greater need for them.

"After (Vietnam) things were quiet for a long time, for about 10 or 12 years. Since the (1983 bombing in Beirut Lebanon) the military has been engaged in so many different conflicts - things have just rolled," said Tubbs. "We've worked very hard to support those (increased) operational forces."

Being on the front lines of that support is something that Tubbs knows well. He's been tasked to many missions during his 21 years of service, such as Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In the late 90s, he served with Command Element of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the USS Kearsarge for operations in Kosovo, Albania and humanitarian assistance in Turkey. In 2003, he was transferred to the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (Anti-Terrorism) as the Medical Operations Chief and, collaterally, as the Command Master Chief.

Tubbs said coming from a position of providing support to a leading role at the Naval Hospital hasn't been without a few adjustments.

"One is just being able to come to such a fine facility as this one every day and find that it's still here - it hasn't left the pier," Tubbs said with a smile. "Coming from the operational side of the house where you are so focused in the role of providing medical support to Marines, I've found that here, the mission is the same. We're focused in providing the best possible health care to Marines, sailors, retirees - all those under our care. That is a huge job."

Handling huge jobs appears to be one of Tubbs' specialties - even on the home front.

He's been married nearly 21 years to wife, Monica. The couple share their Jacksonville home with their 11 children - six boys and five girls.

Tubbs said his vision for the Naval Hospital mirrors that of Admiral Vern Clark who, as Chief of Naval Operations, spoke of "covenant leadership" for the Navy.

"These men and women made a promise when they joined the Navy that they were going to protect and defend this country and they would lay down their lives to do that. Our promise to these sailors is that we take care of them to the fullest extent and that we help them develop and grow as people and professionals," said Tubbs. "I would like nothing more than to keep that promise - that all those under this command would know that they were highly valued as crew members. That would be a success to me."

http://www.jacksonvilledailynews.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=23532&Section=LIBERTY


Ellie