Navy Hospital Corpsmen

Comment

Comment by Jeremy Herrera on February 18, 2010 at 12:45pm

If my memory serves me right, They kept issuing the NDM until about 1997 0r 1998 while I was stationed at Great Mistakes Nav Hos. My friend and I used to question the new HM's when we had a chance to use their services while wait for orders about it and most had no clue as to why they were getting it.

I will have to say that is some respect it probably wasn't the best for them to send fresh quad "0"s to us before sending them to FMF School. I remember getting cut by a tri-wall box and one of them about to freak out because I grabbed a roll of electrical tape and a tissue to make a make shape band-aid. That poor boy kept telling me he would go to the ER and get a band-aid for me.

Comment by Michael J Sanchez on July 28, 2009 at 10:30pm

I was being funny, Doc...the Marines used to call the National Defense ribbon the "Fire Watch Ribbon," because all you had to do to get it was join and stand fire watch. It was a joke in the platoon.
The other day I was talking with a high school friend whom I've not seen since '71 and we were catching up...I got to talking about the times overseas and I realized how much responsibility I had at 20 yrs old...more than I've ever had since, I guess, now that I think of it.
Like The Boss sings, "Glory Days, well, they'll pass you by..."

Comment by Joshua Alexander, MBA on July 28, 2009 at 4:58pm

They never had firewatch badges when I was in. They did have combat action if that's what's your referring to. National defense is still in play.

Comment by Joshua Alexander, MBA on July 28, 2009 at 4:57pm

No FMF for me I was sent to the Blue side before hand. They lost my Field Med School paperwork by the time I was able to prove I had it and looking to go back to the green side the blue side had discharged me on medical for ADHD. With the Marines the ADHD meant I could keep up the Blue side thought I was too hyper. Because they didn't want to work. I actually had a HMCS that put a petroleum gauze on an open wound. We butted heads because I was originally green side and he was a bubblehead.

Comment by Michael J Sanchez on July 28, 2009 at 4:19pm

Doc Alexander, did you get a ribbon when you went to FMF? All we got was the "fire watch ribbon," the National Defense ribbon.
Now the kids get a badge and ribbons. All I have ever said is, if the Nav' is going to recognize one group of HMs, they should give the badge to all FMF Docs...Oo-rah?

Comment by Joshua Alexander, MBA on July 27, 2009 at 12:55am

They shut down San Diego Corps School in 1997. All Corpsmen go to Great Lakes now. They also shut down IDC school in Portsmouth. All IDC's now go to San Diego. Navy never has made sense of anything. Field Med is still in Camp Johnson, NC and Camp Pendleton,CA. Did you see the new FMF warfare pin when I was in they only had the ribbon.

Comment by Michael J Sanchez on July 27, 2009 at 12:42am

Yeah, that's from HCS in San Diego. Don't know that it still exists. Another thing I've wondered about...how come the Navy will only recognize FMF service for HMs who served AFTER 1984, but not before? What about the thousands of us HM Devil Docs who served with the Marines before '84? I'm not a glory hound, but on the other hand for the Navy to select just a few recent Grunt Docs and recognize them and ignore the rest of us seems patently unfair, at least. Either we all served FMF and should be recognized for it or none at all. Our Field Med School was as tough or tougher than the post 1984 era will ever know, and we passed the USMC PFT as a requirement, too.
There. I feel better.
Who else is feeling left out? Any old Docs out there?
Doc Sanchez
HM2 (FMF) USN, 1973 to 1975, Golf 2/4, B 1/4, 3rdMarDiv; and Div. Surg 1stMarDiv--OORAH

Comment by Joshua Alexander, MBA on July 26, 2009 at 11:34pm

Wow that photo is older than me. I went to Corps School in 1996. We never had a mobile canteen at Corps School either. Must be San Diego's I went to Corps School in Great Lakes.

Comment by Michael J Sanchez on July 26, 2009 at 11:22pm

Comment by Michael J Sanchez on July 26, 2009 at 11:08pm

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