thedrifter
10-29-06, 07:17 AM
Sailor medics earn high respect
By RON MARTZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/29/06
Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill. — They are among the most respected members of the military.
They also are among the most at risk.
They are Navy corpsmen, medics who treat both their fellow sailors and Marines.
Known affectionately as "Doc" by those who serve with them, these sailors can often mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield and on ships.
And, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, the demand for them is increasing, as is the respect for what they do.
"Sometimes when I see people [on base] I hear them say: 'Don't mess with her, she's a corpsman; she could save your life some day,' " said Seaman Recruit Ranaujua Bonner, 18, of Atlanta, who is training to be a corpsman.
For Seaman Recruit David Styles of Kennesaw, who has volunteered to serve with the Marines, "there's a certain level of respect and professionalism that people give you as a corpsman."
Styles, 18, has six more weeks of training here before he ships out to a Marine base for advanced medical training. After that, it's likely off to Iraq to serve with a ground combat unit where he will be the first responder in any battlefield emergency in his unit.
And that often puts those who help the wounded more at risk because insurgents
in Iraq have been known to target corpsmen and Army medics.
Navy officials here did not have the exact number of corpsman deaths in Iraq. But the Web site icasualties.org lists at least 15 corpsmen among the 59 Navy deaths in the war.
During the 10 years of Vietnam, 692 Navy corpsmen died.
"I'm not that worried about it," said Styles, a graduate of Paulding County High School. "I'll help as much as I can, support the Marines and do the job to the best of my ability."
Hospitalman Craig Pasanen of Orange Park, Fla., an instructor at the Navy Corps School here, said that last year about 3,500 sailors went through the school.
By the end of this year, about 4,800 more sailors will become corpsmen.
During peacetime, about 45 Navy corpsmen are assigned to a battalion of about 750 Marines. During wartime, that number jumps to 65.
Still, said Pasanen, "It's not a lot. These guys are expected to take care of 30-50 Marines by themselves."
Navy Capt. Mary Kolar, chief of staff for the Naval Service Training Command here, said those who volunteer or those who are selected to be corpsmen typically have some of the highest scores on the military entrance exam.
What once was a 14-week course for corpsmen has been compressed to about 10, with participants learning basic emergency medical training, Pasanen said.
After training, those who plan to serve with the Marines go to either Camp Lejeune, N.C., or Camp Pendleton, Calif., for more advanced training in combat medicine.
"Emergency medicine on the battlefield is a lot different than what we teach here," Pasanen said.
Hospitalman Marcus Williamson, 23, of Carrollton said it's tough to absorb the amount of information corpsmen-in-training have thrown at them in school.
But, he added, "one of the things they teach us is to be confident in everything we're doing."
Williamson's first duty station after completing training will be at one of the Navy facilities in Jacksonville.
Bonner, a Mundy's Mill High School graduate, does not know where she will be sent, but it won't be into combat since corpsmen who serve with the Marines are all males. While in the Navy, she expects to be a lab technician.
In addition to the medical training, corpsmen receive heavy doses of the history and traditions of this special branch, which was formally started in 1898.
Since then, Navy corpsmen have been awarded 22 Medals of Honor for heroism in combat, most of them posthumously.
And, they count among their ranks John Bradley, the only non-Marine among the six men who planted the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the World War II battle on Iwo Jima, currently the subject of the movie "Flags of Our Fathers."
"They teach us to have a lot of pride in what we do," Styles said, "because we represent all the other corpsmen who served before us."
Ellie
By RON MARTZ
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 10/29/06
Naval Station Great Lakes, Ill. — They are among the most respected members of the military.
They also are among the most at risk.
They are Navy corpsmen, medics who treat both their fellow sailors and Marines.
Known affectionately as "Doc" by those who serve with them, these sailors can often mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield and on ships.
And, as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue, the demand for them is increasing, as is the respect for what they do.
"Sometimes when I see people [on base] I hear them say: 'Don't mess with her, she's a corpsman; she could save your life some day,' " said Seaman Recruit Ranaujua Bonner, 18, of Atlanta, who is training to be a corpsman.
For Seaman Recruit David Styles of Kennesaw, who has volunteered to serve with the Marines, "there's a certain level of respect and professionalism that people give you as a corpsman."
Styles, 18, has six more weeks of training here before he ships out to a Marine base for advanced medical training. After that, it's likely off to Iraq to serve with a ground combat unit where he will be the first responder in any battlefield emergency in his unit.
And that often puts those who help the wounded more at risk because insurgents
in Iraq have been known to target corpsmen and Army medics.
Navy officials here did not have the exact number of corpsman deaths in Iraq. But the Web site icasualties.org lists at least 15 corpsmen among the 59 Navy deaths in the war.
During the 10 years of Vietnam, 692 Navy corpsmen died.
"I'm not that worried about it," said Styles, a graduate of Paulding County High School. "I'll help as much as I can, support the Marines and do the job to the best of my ability."
Hospitalman Craig Pasanen of Orange Park, Fla., an instructor at the Navy Corps School here, said that last year about 3,500 sailors went through the school.
By the end of this year, about 4,800 more sailors will become corpsmen.
During peacetime, about 45 Navy corpsmen are assigned to a battalion of about 750 Marines. During wartime, that number jumps to 65.
Still, said Pasanen, "It's not a lot. These guys are expected to take care of 30-50 Marines by themselves."
Navy Capt. Mary Kolar, chief of staff for the Naval Service Training Command here, said those who volunteer or those who are selected to be corpsmen typically have some of the highest scores on the military entrance exam.
What once was a 14-week course for corpsmen has been compressed to about 10, with participants learning basic emergency medical training, Pasanen said.
After training, those who plan to serve with the Marines go to either Camp Lejeune, N.C., or Camp Pendleton, Calif., for more advanced training in combat medicine.
"Emergency medicine on the battlefield is a lot different than what we teach here," Pasanen said.
Hospitalman Marcus Williamson, 23, of Carrollton said it's tough to absorb the amount of information corpsmen-in-training have thrown at them in school.
But, he added, "one of the things they teach us is to be confident in everything we're doing."
Williamson's first duty station after completing training will be at one of the Navy facilities in Jacksonville.
Bonner, a Mundy's Mill High School graduate, does not know where she will be sent, but it won't be into combat since corpsmen who serve with the Marines are all males. While in the Navy, she expects to be a lab technician.
In addition to the medical training, corpsmen receive heavy doses of the history and traditions of this special branch, which was formally started in 1898.
Since then, Navy corpsmen have been awarded 22 Medals of Honor for heroism in combat, most of them posthumously.
And, they count among their ranks John Bradley, the only non-Marine among the six men who planted the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi during the World War II battle on Iwo Jima, currently the subject of the movie "Flags of Our Fathers."
"They teach us to have a lot of pride in what we do," Styles said, "because we represent all the other corpsmen who served before us."
Ellie