thedrifter
01-29-08, 08:28 AM
ABOARD USS KEARSARGE, at sea-- Along with their vital duties of caring for the Marines of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), more than 40 hospital corpsmen attached to the MEU took the time to study for and earn their naval surface, air and Fleet Marine Force warfare qualification pins during the MEU’s six-month deployment.
To earn a naval warfare qualification device, a sailor must prove that they have a functional knowledge about a particular field of the Navy. The majority of the learning process involves hands-on study of the actual areas involved.
For example, the surface warfare qualification requires that a sailor learn about all the major aspects of a naval vessel, such as engineering, damage control, propulsion and navigation. To do this the sailor coordinates with supervisors in those functional areas to tour the spaces and learn how the ship operates.
“It’s really hands on; tying knots down in deck section, or watching sea and anchor detail,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Samuel Schaeffer, a hospital corpsman with the MEU’s Command Element and native of Wauwatosa, Wis. “There’s a lot of practical application; walking around the ship and really knowing your way around.”
Sailors embarked with a MEU aboard the ships of an Expeditionary Strike Group have the unique opportunity to get the first-hand knowledge necessary for all three warfare qualifications.
Each Warfare Qualification device represents weeks and months of effort on the part of the individual sailor who wears it and some of the sailors qualified for more than one badge. In total, the MEU sailors earned more than 70 pins.
“As of the 11th of January, that was the actual first time I haven’t studied for more than two or three hours a day since July,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Brendan Duran, a dental technician with Combat Logistics Battalion-22, the MEU’s Logistics Combat Element.
Duran was just completing the requirements for his FMF pin when he checked into CLB-22. While deployed, the Springfield, Ill. native not only completed the FMF pin requirements, but also studied and qualified for the Surface Warfare and Air Warfare devices.
At just over two and a half years in the Navy, Duran is a bit ahead of the game as a recently promoted third-class petty officer. That will help him later when he competes against his peers for advancement.
“I’ll be the only triple-qualified E-4 sailor back at 2nd Dental Battalion. That helps set me apart.”
Duran’s boss, Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Muniz was the driving force for getting most of the dental section sailors triple-qualified.
“My personal goal was to have them all triple-qualified before I got triple-qualified,” said Muniz, a resident of Bejabaja, Puerto Rico. “I know in the long run, it’s going to help them out. It’s going to benefit them.”
To accomplish this goal, the dental section shifted the majority of its patient appointments to the mornings and used the afternoons and evenings to study and participate in the walkthroughs associated with the training.
“The hardest part was probably just all the walkthroughs,” said Lt. Clint Bullman, the MEU’s medical planner, who obtained his Surface Warfare Medical Department Officer pin. “That’s what consumed most of my time -- the hands-on physical application, not the studying.”
Bullman, who served as an enlisted hospital corpsman before receiving his commission, said that the primary difference between the officer pins and the enlisted pins is that this year the enlisted sailors were able to coordinate directly with subject-area experts to get their training and testing, whereas the officers still had to go before a formal review board.
“Those guys that took the initiative to get their surface pin, their air pin or their FMF pin while out here during this deployment will benefit tremendously throughout their career,” said Bullman, a native of Spartanburg, S.C. “If they didn’t get their devices, then they’re probably going to be kicking themselves in later on.”
The 22nd MEU (SOC) is currently returning from a six-month deployment. For more information about the 22nd MEU (SOC) go to www.22meu.usmc.mil.
To earn a naval warfare qualification device, a sailor must prove that they have a functional knowledge about a particular field of the Navy. The majority of the learning process involves hands-on study of the actual areas involved.
For example, the surface warfare qualification requires that a sailor learn about all the major aspects of a naval vessel, such as engineering, damage control, propulsion and navigation. To do this the sailor coordinates with supervisors in those functional areas to tour the spaces and learn how the ship operates.
“It’s really hands on; tying knots down in deck section, or watching sea and anchor detail,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Samuel Schaeffer, a hospital corpsman with the MEU’s Command Element and native of Wauwatosa, Wis. “There’s a lot of practical application; walking around the ship and really knowing your way around.”
Sailors embarked with a MEU aboard the ships of an Expeditionary Strike Group have the unique opportunity to get the first-hand knowledge necessary for all three warfare qualifications.
Each Warfare Qualification device represents weeks and months of effort on the part of the individual sailor who wears it and some of the sailors qualified for more than one badge. In total, the MEU sailors earned more than 70 pins.
“As of the 11th of January, that was the actual first time I haven’t studied for more than two or three hours a day since July,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Brendan Duran, a dental technician with Combat Logistics Battalion-22, the MEU’s Logistics Combat Element.
Duran was just completing the requirements for his FMF pin when he checked into CLB-22. While deployed, the Springfield, Ill. native not only completed the FMF pin requirements, but also studied and qualified for the Surface Warfare and Air Warfare devices.
At just over two and a half years in the Navy, Duran is a bit ahead of the game as a recently promoted third-class petty officer. That will help him later when he competes against his peers for advancement.
“I’ll be the only triple-qualified E-4 sailor back at 2nd Dental Battalion. That helps set me apart.”
Duran’s boss, Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Muniz was the driving force for getting most of the dental section sailors triple-qualified.
“My personal goal was to have them all triple-qualified before I got triple-qualified,” said Muniz, a resident of Bejabaja, Puerto Rico. “I know in the long run, it’s going to help them out. It’s going to benefit them.”
To accomplish this goal, the dental section shifted the majority of its patient appointments to the mornings and used the afternoons and evenings to study and participate in the walkthroughs associated with the training.
“The hardest part was probably just all the walkthroughs,” said Lt. Clint Bullman, the MEU’s medical planner, who obtained his Surface Warfare Medical Department Officer pin. “That’s what consumed most of my time -- the hands-on physical application, not the studying.”
Bullman, who served as an enlisted hospital corpsman before receiving his commission, said that the primary difference between the officer pins and the enlisted pins is that this year the enlisted sailors were able to coordinate directly with subject-area experts to get their training and testing, whereas the officers still had to go before a formal review board.
“Those guys that took the initiative to get their surface pin, their air pin or their FMF pin while out here during this deployment will benefit tremendously throughout their career,” said Bullman, a native of Spartanburg, S.C. “If they didn’t get their devices, then they’re probably going to be kicking themselves in later on.”
The 22nd MEU (SOC) is currently returning from a six-month deployment. For more information about the 22nd MEU (SOC) go to www.22meu.usmc.mil.