BEING A MEDIC IN THE NAVY

[patti dalida]

Hi everyone- My son's job in the Navy is being a Medic.He is now stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. He is very bored with his job and I'm wondering is it going to get any better for him? What exactly will be his duties? Thanks-Patti

[Tamie (mom of Michael)]

Hi Patti,
My name is Tamie and i have a son who is a corpsman also with the Navy, he has been in for a year and a few months he is stationed @ Camp P / Camp Margarita just up the high way from Camp Pendleton. Sorry to hear your son is bored, i really hate when the boys use that term, he is probably having some down time which is hard for them when they are young and need to be active lol. Is he going through his FMBT ? or graduated from that? His he attached to a Marine Unit? that is what my son is. he is with the 1st. Marines div. 3rd. track he seems to be having fun, i guess if you call training fun lol. anyway tell yourself and your son it will get better, i would rather have them bored in the States then in Iran fighting this crazy war. talk to me anytime if you have more question hopefully i can answer them. take care. Tamie

[Nancy RN]

Hi Tamie! My name is Nancy. I have a son who is going to be a corpman after boot camp at Great Lakes in November. Is there anything I can motivate him to do so he has an idea going into this what his options are? I am so apprehensive about him going with the Marines because he originally wanted to be an MA (Master at Arms) but that school was full. I am really nervous about FMBT school because he had a tough time in High School with his math and how much of that is used in the FMBT schooling? I guess I am just a concerned mom but I am trying to help him without knowing a thing about it. Thanks for any info. Nancy

[lstrebeck]

Hi Nancy. No matter the rating, or time in the military, there will always be things we don't understand about our servicemembers active duty life! Even if you can't give specific advice, which is most of the time in my case, just send out those positive messages. And keep your chin up. After many conversations where I've had to sound my best to be uplifting, I have closed myself in my room and cried a bit. By the next phone call the situation has changed and my son is all positive and smiles again. He's only been out of A school for a year, and he's gone through many changes.
Best wishes to your son in boot camp!

[Cathy]

Hi Nancy - My son went FMF, and is the Doc for a Marine sniper unit in Iraq. His very worst subject in High School was math, and he got through his A school and C school just fine. I think motivation has a lot to do with it, but don't worry about your son. They will teach him what he needs to know if he's willing to put in the effort. Some of the guys didn't pass all the tests, so it's probably a good thing to have a back-up plan in mind just in case.

[Estella]

Hi Tamie,

I read your response to Patti about her concerns about her son being bored at training for corpsman. I see that your son is in the same unit and div. that my son is in. My son, Neil is presently at 29 Palms and will be waiting approx. 1 year before they tell him where he will be deployed. I was wondering he your son my have met him? I agree with you, that boredum is better than being in Afganistan right now. Take care.
Estella

[krobb9706]

Patti,
As a retired navy medic (Hospital Corpsman) and the mother of a young woman who just separated after 9 years.
It does get better! But he has to be the one who makes it happen.
He has to look around at everything being a corpsman has to offer. Talk to lab techs, xrays techs, etc. Do correspondence courses, talk to the ALPOs, the CPOs, the Career Counselor! Don't just sit around the barracks, the club, the chow hall watching the ones that are just doing enough to get by. Even if he discovers that being in medicine is not what he thought it would be he can still go take classes, get off the base, get away from Oceanside.
I guess my point is he has to be the one to make it happen to him.

[Lyrae31]

Hi Patti,
My son is a GL and wants to be a Corpsman assigned to Marines. He and I talked about it and his thought was once the training is done that it would never be a boring job.

I look forward to reading what you and all the other mothers say in this subject. Thanks-Lyrae

[LisaG-WA (PeteG's Mom)]

Hello All. I am a retired Navy Mustang...I was a Navy Corpsman and then picked up on a commission as a Medical Service Corps officer. My son has been on active duty just over a year as well and is a Navy FMF Corpsman with a Marine unit at 29 Palms, CA. Trust me, if your son is bored, it’s his own doing. Down time at Camp Pendleton is much easier to take than down time out at 29 Palms (29 Stumps), stuck in the dessert.

My son is also one to say "bored" a little too quickly; however, he is managing to stay busy at 29 Palms even in his down time. I'm not sure if it’s a generational thing in that with all the video games and instant messages and instant everything these days, the expectation of the 20 something-s is that they will be on the go 24/7.

I agree with the response below that your son needs to find things to do...the adjustment to military life and where to go to find constructive outlets and things to do is just new to him. MWR-Morale, Welfare and Recreation at each base is a GREAT place to start and ALWAYS has tons of activities in the works and information available for things to do in the local area, access to rent all kinds of equipment and then there is also the educational folks who can help him pursue courses towards college while he's on active duty....that's what I did and it led to me meeting with the Navy Counselor and finding out about the commissioning programs available to me.

Your son took a GREAT Leap of Faith joining the service, so he has the right attitude....tell him to kick it up a notch and take it one step further and check out everything available to him...the Navy IS an Adventure...If YOU Make it One and Accelerate Your Life! Semper Fi!

[Nancy RN]

Hello Lisa G WA, this is Nancy(Big Jake's mom). My son will go to boot camp at Great Lakes and also A School there. He has always wanted to be State Trooper. His options were either go to college for four years, or serve in the military. Well, he chose the Navy because my parents met and married while in the Navy.. He said being a corpsman will help him in his EMT training once he gets out and applies for Trooper school. We are SO proud of his decision to serve his country. He is also an extremely great basketball player. Are there alot of basketball leagues on base to play? Thanks for the info about the commissioning programs, I will be sure to tell him to do that too. I am thankful for NFM.com because I learn a little more each day I'm on here. By the time he leaves in Nov. I will feel much more at ease. Thank you for serving your country all those years too!!
Nancy

[Navy Dad Mark]

Nancy - First of all you should not use your full name for your N4M user name for security reasons. Actually Im surprised the administrator hasn't notified you or taken you off the site.

Secondly - My son went to four years of college...wanted to be a police officer out of college. He interviewed for cop jobs all over the place and no offers. He enlisted into the Navy and entered the corpsman program for the same reason as your son...to help him receive EMT training and medical training to help him once he got out of the Navy to help him get a police job. Well...he went through bootcamp...A School Corpsman school...then to C School Optician Technician...and now is an Optician at a health center at the Naval Air Facility in Japan. He's completely changed his career focus now and could very well try to become an eye doctor after the Navy!

So things change as they mature and try new paths.

[1 son + 1 daughter = 2 for Navy]

Navy Dad Mark, Why is your son going to wait? He should be able to find a way to start working toward this goal while serving and have the Navy pay for it.

Yes, he will have to spend some extra time in the Navy after his schooling is complete. But doctors coming out of the military get some of the top jobs in the world, not just the U.S.

My husband works in a hospital and would go to a doctor with military experience before going to one with only civilian experience. To add to this he works with some civilian doctors that were the best in their medical school, but having seen thier work with patients he wouldn't trust them to care for our pets.

Okay, we've tooted our horn enough. But we do hope you will encourage your son to look for those opprotunities for more schooling now.

[Nancy RN]

Navy Dad Mark: Thanks for the name advice. I changed it. Sounds like your son has done extremely well being a corpsman. I can only hope he does as well as your son. My son hopes to check out alot of options once he gets in. I believe he'll do well, its all a matter of personal perservence I understand. I appreciate all the input. We will miss him dearly but I believe it will be the learning opportunity of a lifetime. Thanks again.
Nancy RN