Hospital Corpsman
A Hospital Corpsman (HM ) is a seaman in a team or NCO rank of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps. They assist physicians to ensure care and support for patients and their families. They serve as a nurse, doctor or dental assistants, field paramedics and medical technicians and work on areas that match those of a pharmaceutical- technical assistant or medical- technical assistants. The duties of a Hospital Corpsman are, inter alia, First aid, minor surgery, patient transportation, patient care, laboratory work and administrative work. Similar to the Medical Service of the Bundeswehr.
The use of the Corpsman covers a wide range of posts, including naval hospitals and clinics, aboard ships or in joint service units as a field medic of the U.S. Marine Corps. The U.S. Navy Hospital Corps is the only command of the U.S. Navy, which consists only of personnel and non-commissioned officer ranks.
History
The Hospital Corps is since 1799 part of the U.S. Navy, after the Congress of the United States made the rule that all surgical assistants should be integrated on board the ships in the fleet.
Hospital Corpsman is a use designation, which is awarded after a special training. Over the years, the title has changed several times, from surgeons assistant to pharmacist.
On June 17, 1898, the Hospital Corps was created under that very name, so the title of the soldiers kept changing in this command at the decision of the U.S. Congress. During the two world wars was the use designation Pharmacist 's Mate, until it was finally renamed as Hospital Corpsman.
In July 2005, the Hospital Corpsman "A" School was founded and has since formed soldiers in dentistry from ( Dent Alman (DT ) ). This use designation was incorporated on 1 October 2005 in the order of use of the Hospital Corpsman.
Organization
Because of the great abundance of tasks and services, including medical requirements of the U.S. Marine Corps, which has no own paramedics, using the Hospital Corpsman is the most common in the U.S. Navy.
Within the use of the HM, the sailor obtain various qualifications through the conclusion of "C" schools. Each gives "C" school, a Navy Enlisted Classification ( NEC). The normal HM, who graduated from the "A" school or the special basic training, has the NEC 0000th A "C" school offers a further specialized training in order to prepare the HM to specific uses such as laboratory technicians, radiographers or aviation medicine specialist. The daily service of HM depends heavily on his training on a "C" school and from what unit he is assigned.
There are primary and secondary NECs. For example, a Corpsman have the NEC 0000 ( general HM) as primary and as secondary the NEC 8404 (field medic ).
Service in the U.S. Marine Corps
The Field Medical Service School ( FMSS ), with offices in Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejeune, Hospital Corpsmen forms for the service in units of the U.S. Marine Corps or the Fleet Marine Force. After training, they have the NEC 8404: Field Medical Service Technician. This training includes an increase in physical fitness, dealing with firearms, and the basics of the service in the U.S. Marine Corps. For this, they go through a seven-week training.
Awards
Since the Corpsman are virtually allocated to all conceivable tasks in U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, including U.S. Navy SEALs, is to use the most excellent of the U.S. Navy: 22 Medals of Honor ( half of all Medals conferred by the Department of the Navy of Honor ), 174 Navy Crosses, 31 Distinguished Service Medals, 943 Silver Stars and 1,553 Bronze Stars. There are 14 ships that were named after HM. One of the soldiers who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima, was the HM John Bradley.
A common description of the 8404 Corpsman during the 1960s and 1970s was: A long haired, bearded sailor who would go through the very gates of Hell to tend to a wounded Marine .. (Eng. " A long-haired, bearded sailor through hell would go to supply a wounded Marine. ") This description is taken from the book" Green Side Out " by Major Gene Duncan.