On corpsmen....
While checking comments and e-mail, I ran across this guy. He's a corpsman. You will find him posted with the Marines in the sidebar.
I have a Hell of a lot of respect for corpsmen. Granted there are a few idiots, and there was one who some of my buddies sent to the hospital as a patient because he fucked me over, but by in large, they are great guys. They may have enlisted in the Navy, but they have to hang with Marines, which is a tall order. The following are some stories of corpsmen I met, and one I heard about second hand:
doc A: doc A wanted to be a Marine. The problem was he was only seventeen when he joined, and his parents would not let him join the Marines. To spite them, he became a corpsman and volunteered for "greenside" service and was assigned to 3/4. He was a scrapper. He was as tough as any Marine. doc A always had your back; it didn't matter if it was in a bar brawl or garrison, or the field. He was tactically proficient to such a degree that the 0351's would put him on point during patrols. He was young, tough, and absolutely fearless.
doc Z: doc Z was just really cool. He was always mellow, and even-keeled. He would cut corners and bend rules to keep good Marines out of trouble for the injuries sustained from drunken stupidity (myself included). I have a picture of us at the top of Mt. Fuji in Japan, smoking Marlboros. Always laid back, he never got rattled, but at the same time he took his medical duty absolutely seriously and never hesitated in coming to your aid. He was also a great guy to split a few bottles of whiskey with in a typhoon.
doc R: doc R exemplified most corpsmen. He was calm, quiet and collected. He was good at his job. When one of the Marines in my company got shot by a .50 cal during a training exercise, he ran through the fire, and delivered mouth to trachea resuscitation trying to bring the Marine back to life. His efforts were in vain, of course, but he displayed the kind of indiscriminate compassion and bravery that Marines revere in their corpsmen.
some Recon doc: heard this story from a buddy in Recon. Recon was spending the day at the pool. The Marines were giving their new doc a really hard time about being a squid. He tied himself to the bottom of the pool, and did not tell the Marines what he was doing. after everyone else was at the surface, they realized that one man was missing. The Recon Marines dove under, and freed him from the knots he had tied. He had enough faith in the Recon Marines to save his life, and enough balls to risk his to prove it, that they stopped screwing with him after that. (for those of you who do not understand; Recon Marines are absolutely crazy, and you have to be crazy to be able to hang with them).
There are other stories, too numerous to tell (one of them includes a doc who kept me from choking another Marine to death for insubordination and calling me a coward).
The Navy Corpsmen who I served with were some of the greatest human beings on the planet. I have eaten with them, drank with them, sweated with them, and suffered with them. They patched me up when I was hurt, and I stood up for them when they were threatened. In many ways, they embody what all in medicine should aspire for; an unquantifiable zeal for the care of those put in their charge. They were never too tired or too busy (or too drunk) to stop and do absolutely everything in their power to take care of Marines. They spared nothing in discharging their duties. When I expressed an interest in medicine, they were eager to begin my education. It was Navy corpsmen, not paramedics that first taught me about battlefield medicine. It was Navy corpsmen, not doctors who taught me about dedication. It was Navy corpsmen, not committees that understand humanism in medicine. It was Navy corpsmen, not ethicists who showed me what the traits of a healer are. There are many doctors I respect and would like to make proud by my actions, but I think the toughest standards I would ever have to live up to are those of the Navy corpsmen.
So, to all those long-haired bell-bottom-wearing swab jockey squids out there who did a tour greenside; I salute you for your courage and service, and I thank you for your guidance and example.
You walk where Marines and angels fear to tread "TO AID THE WOUNDED, IN THEIR MOMENT OF NEED."
Respectfully Submitted,
doc Russia