thedrifter
10-13-06, 10:05 AM
EAST FUJI MANEUVER AREA, Japan(Oct. 13, 2006) -- They stay in the field, eat meals ready to eat, sleep on the ground, wake up before dawn and wear the eagle, globe and anchor - they're corpsmen.
When artillery batteries from Marine bases in California, North Carolina and Hawaii deployed to Okinawa on the Marine Corps' Unit Deployment Program, they took all essential equipment and personnel. That, of course, includes those vital corpsmen - the men tasked with providing medical care to Marines wherever duty calls them, no matter how undesirable or grave the conditions.
Be it the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan or a less treacherous training deployment to the East Fuji Maneuver Area on mainland Japan, field corpsmen carry on a proud naval tradition of blurring the distinction between blue and green.
But it's not easy being green, and the rapport between Marines and corpsmen isn't automatic. Maybe that's why most Navy "docs" go above and beyond their duties to show their devotion to the Marines under their care.
"I try to do more then just what a corpsman is supposed to do," said Seaman Apprentice Adam R. Crandall, a hospital corpsman with M Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment - one of three batteries that attached to 3rd Bn., 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, for the artillery relocation exercise in Fuji. "I'll get out there and help them do their job. I want to improve the lives of the Marines I'm working with any way possible. I can do that by lending someone my poncho or just sitting down and talking with them."
Corpsmen have served alongside Marines for more then 200 years, keeping them healthy, combat ready and, in many instances, alive. But the bond between Marine and corpsmen goes further than necessity.
"The relationship between Marines and 'docs' is probably better than a Marine to a Marine," said Pfc. Daniel R. Grigsby, a field artillery cannoneer with M Battery. "I think the 'docs' are seen more as a friend. It's not like a fellow Marine where you're like, 'This is my colleague.' With the 'doc' it's, 'This is the 'doc.' He's a cool guy.'"
But simply being "a cool guy" is not enough to earn Marines' trust and respect, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason W. Andrews, a hospital corpsman with M Battery.
"All the Marines know me, trust me and will come to me for anything," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason W. Andrews, a hospital corpsman with M Battery. "But that trust comes with time. We have to prove that we're not going to lie to them, and that we'll treat them the way they deserve. If we treat the Marines well, they treat us well, but if we lie to them or don't hold our weight, they'll outcast us."
Corpsmen also earn respect by performing everyday Marine Corps duties in the field, such as digging trenches and providing security at night. "The 'docs' are treated as Marines whether they like it or not," said Lance Cpl. Anthony M. Leone, a towed artillery systems technician with F Battery, 2nd Bn., 10th Marines. "But it's like they're Marines anyway. We're close to each other, if anyone has a problem they can take it to the 'docs.'"
Corpsmen, when attached to Marine units aren't considered Navy, Leone said. They're Marines
Ellie
When artillery batteries from Marine bases in California, North Carolina and Hawaii deployed to Okinawa on the Marine Corps' Unit Deployment Program, they took all essential equipment and personnel. That, of course, includes those vital corpsmen - the men tasked with providing medical care to Marines wherever duty calls them, no matter how undesirable or grave the conditions.
Be it the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan or a less treacherous training deployment to the East Fuji Maneuver Area on mainland Japan, field corpsmen carry on a proud naval tradition of blurring the distinction between blue and green.
But it's not easy being green, and the rapport between Marines and corpsmen isn't automatic. Maybe that's why most Navy "docs" go above and beyond their duties to show their devotion to the Marines under their care.
"I try to do more then just what a corpsman is supposed to do," said Seaman Apprentice Adam R. Crandall, a hospital corpsman with M Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment - one of three batteries that attached to 3rd Bn., 12th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, for the artillery relocation exercise in Fuji. "I'll get out there and help them do their job. I want to improve the lives of the Marines I'm working with any way possible. I can do that by lending someone my poncho or just sitting down and talking with them."
Corpsmen have served alongside Marines for more then 200 years, keeping them healthy, combat ready and, in many instances, alive. But the bond between Marine and corpsmen goes further than necessity.
"The relationship between Marines and 'docs' is probably better than a Marine to a Marine," said Pfc. Daniel R. Grigsby, a field artillery cannoneer with M Battery. "I think the 'docs' are seen more as a friend. It's not like a fellow Marine where you're like, 'This is my colleague.' With the 'doc' it's, 'This is the 'doc.' He's a cool guy.'"
But simply being "a cool guy" is not enough to earn Marines' trust and respect, according to Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason W. Andrews, a hospital corpsman with M Battery.
"All the Marines know me, trust me and will come to me for anything," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason W. Andrews, a hospital corpsman with M Battery. "But that trust comes with time. We have to prove that we're not going to lie to them, and that we'll treat them the way they deserve. If we treat the Marines well, they treat us well, but if we lie to them or don't hold our weight, they'll outcast us."
Corpsmen also earn respect by performing everyday Marine Corps duties in the field, such as digging trenches and providing security at night. "The 'docs' are treated as Marines whether they like it or not," said Lance Cpl. Anthony M. Leone, a towed artillery systems technician with F Battery, 2nd Bn., 10th Marines. "But it's like they're Marines anyway. We're close to each other, if anyone has a problem they can take it to the 'docs.'"
Corpsmen, when attached to Marine units aren't considered Navy, Leone said. They're Marines
Ellie