Navy hospitalman is modest military hero

[thedrifter]

February 6, 2009
Navy hospitalman is modest military hero

By Christopher Nagy
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

Ben Castiglione said he doesn't feel like he did anything especially heroic.

The U.S. Navy, however, begs to differ.

The 2006 Howell High School graduate and current hospitalman with the Navy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal last fall for superior performance of duties during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In particular, U.S Marine Corps Col. R.E. Smith, Castiglione's commanding officer, cited two specific incidents in the commendation — one in which Castiglione treated two Iraqi civilians who sustained broken bones and lacerations following an automobile accident near the Rio Lobo combat outpost, and another where Castiglione made a quick assessment and gave treatment to an unconscious Marine suffering heart palpitations and troubled breathing due to a scorpion sting.

"Hospitalman Castiglione expertly and efficiently treated numerous Marines, Iraqi security forces and civilians in basic health care and advanced trauma. ... Hospitalman Castiglione's initiative, perseverance and total dedication to duty reflected credit on him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and United States Naval Service," Smith wrote in the certificate that accompanied the medal.

Ben Castiglione, on the other hand, addresses his recent recognition with a healthy dose of modesty.

"I definitely do not feel like any type of hero," he recently wrote in an e-mail from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. "Many Marines and corpsman did great things on our deployment, and — this sounds cliché — but I was just doing my job."

The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal is awarded to members of the military below the rank of lieutenant commander, Ben Castiglione explained. It is given for meritorious service or achievement that exceeds what is normally required or expected based upon an individual's rank, training or experience.

"I'm very proud of him," said father Joel Castiglione of Cohoctah Township. "He's done so well with this. He's really excelled in all of his classes and training."

Joel Castiglione was able to see the medal for himself when Ben Castiglione came back to Livingston County over the holidays, and he described his son as a "gung-ho, John Wayne type of guy" when it comes to his military service — a point with which the hospitalman's stepmother agreed.

"He's really into it," said Gloria Castiglione. "We're very proud of him, and very proud of everyone else who is over there, too."

Ben Castiglione joined the Navy as a Marine fleet force corpsman on Halloween 2006.

"I always had an interest in medicine and wanted an opportunity to operate with the Marine Corps on deployments," he explained. "I'm able to learn medicine while also being able to operate within the Marine Corps. I have seen what the Navy has done for people in my family. I have an uncle who started off as a corpsman and now is a doctor."

Ben Castiglione's rank is hospitalman, and his job is corpsman, which are to the Navy what a medic is to the Army. Because the Marine Corps is a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy, Marines "pull their medical personnel from the Navy to treat wounded Marines in the field, work in battle aid stations and for every echelon of care that is required for the Marines to be able to operate effectively," he said.

"He was always interested in medicine," Joel Castiglione said. "He just decided he wanted to serve his country, and he didn't understand why the same people had to keep going back (overseas) again and again. He wanted to take his turn."

It's a decision that Ben Castiglione said he doesn't regret.

"The military life is not easy, but I believe that I am a stronger person for it," he said. "The hardships I have dealt with was worth what I have learned and the bonds I have with the Marines in my platoon. When my platoon and I have downtime and talk and mess around with each other, it's like one big hilarious, dysfunctional family — and it's a blast. We take care of each other."

Ben Castiglione came back late last year from Iraq, his first deployment since joining the military. A Navy corpsman assigned to a Marine Corps division generally sees two deployments before being transferred to another command to share learned services and experiences to a more clinical level outside of field service, he explained.

"I believe that being deployed overseas, people think that service members would have a better idea of what is going on within this conflict than someone who has never seen that part of the world," Ben Castiglione said. "Honestly, you don't have time to make opinions of the war or why you are there. You are more concerned about making it back with your friends and getting the job done."

As for interacting with the civilians in Iraq, Ben Castiglione said most seem happy to see U.S. forces.

"Especially when they were hurt in some way and we're there to help," he said. "As a corpsman, I am required to treat the locals just as I would my Marines, so I had great opportunities to interact with the people there. Most of the people who where not happy to see us were foreign fighters from surrounding countries."

When it comes to the troops, Ben Castiglione said many are tired; however, he said servicemembers are always ready to act when called upon, and the withdrawal from Iraq and the refocus on conflict in Afghanistan has rejuvenated many in the military.

"A lot of people in the military, I believe, are ready for Afghanistan," he said.

For now, Ben Castiglione hopes to only continue his time as a corpsman; however, his life's plan will likely take him out of the military and allow him to use his knowledge and experience in the civilian world.

"If an opportunity presents itself for me to advance my medical knowledge while being able to be with the Marines, I'll take it," he said. "My long-term goal is to eventually get out of the military and take what I have experienced and learned, and become a physician's assistant."

Contact Daily Press & Argus copy editor Christopher Nagy at (517) 552-2826 or at cnagy@gannett.com.
Additional Facts
ABOUT BENJAMIN CASTIGLIONE


* Age: 20

* Residence: A 2006 Howell High School graduate, Castiglione is currently stationed with 2nd Armored Reconnaissance at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

* Family: Father, Joel Castiglione; stepmother, Gloria Castiglione; mother, Carrie Castiglione grandparents, James and Frances Petre

* Career: Castiglione is a hospitalman with the U.S Navy.

* Hobbies: Basketball, paintball, spending time with his friends in the U.S. Marine Corps

* Awards: He received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal on Oct. 8 for actions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Ellie

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