Corpsman Moms

Hi there. My husband is still in Boot Camp. But I've heard about Brown Bag while he's in A school?

Does anyone know about that? And anyone know if that's easy to apply/get approved?

Any answers will be great. Appreciate it. :)

Hi Wynona!  Not heard that term, but I'm guessing you mean live off base/commute?  If so, the answer is that they're not allowed to live off base during A school.

The most active N4M group for A school/Hospital Corps school is this one, please come join!  Best place for asking questions and sharing info about A school.  http://www.navyformoms.com/group/hmhospitalcorpsmanaschoolinsanantonio 

Thanks. I just joined it. And how come they are not allow to live off base? :)

It's a very intense program packed into just 14 weeks, so the focus is expected to be fully on learning (and passing - not everyone does).  

@Marcy, gotcha. It's good for me to expect long distance then. :)

Fourteen weeks isn't that long ;)

Merry Christmas to all of you!  I hope you day is the best with your families!

Mary

Merry Christmas to our 'family' of corpsman moms and loved ones everywhere, and bless our corpsmen everywhere!  

The Corpsman’s Christmas Poem

'Twas the night before Christmas as I flew o'er the Marine Base,
When I spied a young man who seemed out of place.
His eyes showed compassion, his hair a bit long,
But his head was held high and his body was strong.

His air was confident, his uniform smart,
But what impressed me most was the size of his heart.
For he embodied honor, one of this country's best,
And the words U.S. NAVY showed large on his chest.

As I stood there in wonder and gazed into his eyes,
the words that he spoke took me quite by surprise.
"What's wrong Santa, haven't you ever seen a sailor before?"
I sensed something special and longed to know more.

"To be honest, this field thing wasn't part of my plan,
But God didn't give me a boat or tin can."
The words he spoke next surprised me all the more,
"But I'm as proud of my Navy as I am of the Corps!"

"Don't worry Santa, that I'm a sailor you see,
For when a Marine goes down they will still call on me.
They'll forget I'm a sailor, they'll call in my stock.
At the top of their lungs they'll yell ,"Get me the doc!"

"And I'll answer that call, anytime, anywhere.
Though I know I'm a target I really don't care.
I'll face incoming fire as I race cross the land,
And use my very own body to shield a downed man."

"Working long hours and into the night,
My unit's battle is over, but I'm just starting to fight.
For the life of every Marine is sacred to me.
I refuse to surrender them to death, and in that I'll find victory."

"And yet I'll take the time to comfort a dying man,
To sit down by his side, to reach out and hold his hand.
For it takes as much courage to care as to fight.
For just as the poem says, many don't "go gently into that night."

"Santa, it's not any one uniform that makes you a man,
But rather it's those ideals for which you choose to stand.
I draw my line here, it's long and it's plain.
For pain, hurt and suffering are the things I disdain."

I know very well that I may lose my life,
So that a Marine may see an unmet child and young wife.
So Santa, it really doesn't matter if they don't like my hair.
I'm a Navy Corpsman, their Doc, and I'll always be there."

"I follow the brave docs who have come long before,
From Belleau Wood, Iwo, and Lebanon's shore.
As history proudly shows, they all gave their best,
And for those who have died, surely they're blessed."

"At Inchon, the gulf and times during Tet,
Our brothers have fallen, but we carry on yet.
For we carry their honor and legacy still."
As I held back my tears it took all of my will.

I had to leave him there for I had other plans,
But I knew in my heart that the Corps is in good hands.
As I flew away I heard his laughter, it rang so loud and clear.
"Hey Santa, how 'bout a nice pair of boots for the 26 miler next year?"

---Merry Christmas Doc, wherever you are!

Hi Everyone! I'm new to this group. My daughter is currently an IC (Interior Communications), serving on the USS Truman. She is interested in cross rating into Corpsman. She wants to be a "Psyche Tech" or it may be called "Behavioral Health Technician."

She is enlisted and has a Bachelors degree but it's in animation. She's thinking about going back to school for her Masters degree but wants to work as a Psyche Tech first to get a taste for the job to confirm her major in Psychology. Eventually she would like to be a psychologist as an officer in the navy.

Can anyone give me more info on what this particular job does? Is the A-school in Texas? Does the sailor get stationed in a war zone? If so, for how long? What is the percentage of sea duty vs shore duty? Are they placed on the ships? Where are Psyche Techs usually stationed? Where are they usually placed,  hospitals, etc?

Sorry for all the questions but she and I are doing our research before she cross rates. Any information is appreciated. Thanks!

Happy New Year to all!

Hi, Wanda, just briefly...start with the links posted above the discussion area and check out the information on those links. I'm not familar with cross rating into other ranks, so I can't answer those questions for you. 

Corpsmen can be stationed any place in the world, including the war zone, usually when they serve "greenside" with a Marine unit. Those deployments range from 7 months to just over a year at a time. A corpsman has to complete FMTB to serve with the Marines. There is a link above about the two training stations and more....

My son is graduating C school in SAT for surgical tech on Jan 22, 2013. Anyone else?

Can someone tell me, please, if Aschoolers are allowed off base for church? My kids actually already have friends in a non denominational church in San Antonio and want to know if they'll be able to go on Sunday mornings and Friday nights.

Check out the HM (Hospital Corps) A School link above for a group that has up to date info on A school in San Antonio. 

I pulled this Link to a dicussion. on some info about the routine at the A School. 

Calling moms of C school grads 2011 till now!  Please add your knowledge to this Discussion so the A school group has up-to-date info - thanks! http://www.navyformoms.com/group/hmhospitalcorpsmanaschoolinsananto...

C school surgical tech was 6 months. 4 months class 2months clinicals in hospitals around the SAT area.  They have to complete 120 surgeries and pass the test.

Yes, A schoolrs are allowed off base to attend churchif they have not been assigned watch.

Thanks, ladies.  My son is leaving for basic in May and my daughter in August.  He already got HM, she is on waiting for female HM spot to "open", which her recruiter insists will happen shortly.  She signed for something she has zero interest in and has to be "switched over" once it opens...better happen soon! She is stressing that if it doesn't happen quickly, she will miss deadlines for college applications, and refuses to go as an IC.  Oy!

Anyone up to date on this? http://news.yahoo.com/vets-face-confusion-using-gi-bill-state-schoo...

No, I haven't heard of this. Probably because my son's last Navy assignment was in San Antonio, and his residency has always been here at our address in Austin, He's going to University of Texas San Antonio, where he has bought a home. I'm going to share this on the Transitions group to see if anyone else has had this problem.I'll also post on FB about it, those moms are always on top of stuff like this, Thanks!

Any cross stitiching corpsman moms out there? My corpsman's sister is having a baby in about 6 weeks and I want to stitch a hat for the baby with "My uncle is a Navy corpsman" on it. I'd like to include the medical symbol that he wears on his uniform on the baby's hat. Does anyone have a pattern for that or seen one? If I can't find one, I'll just use an anchor. 

Mombyheart, I Googled "cross stitch pattern caduceus" and saw some patterns, will that help?

ps - you have to post a pic of the baby's hat, sounds wonderful!

Thanks, Marcy! That did help :) I had no idea what the symbol was called.  I will post a pic when (if!) I get it done.  Good intentions don't always translate into actions  :)

Well, my Corpsman has officially gone green.  He is now in K-Bay, Hawaii attached to a Marine Unit - not sure which one yet.  His time in Italy flew by - he was there for two years.  He just spent a month at home on leave and it looks like he's going to make a career of it, but time will tell if that is true.

Have a great day everyone!

Dartangion, welcome and good luck at boot camp.  BC is usually eight or nine weeks.  Join the boot camp moms site and you will find a ton of information.

Guess what - New member txdylansmom brings our membership to 1,100!!!   New members since January 1 are chefongreenstreet, cprmom, SkippysMom, kathieotz, kentishgal, boompa, tjsmom, HannahsMom, Mum, Stephanie, cathycoachmom, macs mom, and ALOHANAVY.   Welcome to ALL our new members in the past few months, join in and introduce yourselves!

Thank you for all of the nice welcomes and information.  You've all been awesome and very helpful!

Welcome to all our new members!  Have been in contact with our Corpsman stationed in Afghanistan and all is well.  ALOHANAVY, do you live in Hawaii?  We will be making a trip there in April to meet our other Sailor's ship to take the Tiger Cruise to San Diego with him.  He's also been on deployment.

Breaking news - Pentagon lifting ban on women in combat

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta is lifting the military’s ban on women in combat, which will open up hundreds of thousands of additional front-line jobs to them, senior defense officials said on Wednesday.  

Good afternoon,

My son is HM in A School San Antonio. This next chapter is starting for him and us (his parents) any pointers from "those that have gone before"? :)

I agree with Teach.  One thing I do is send my son a care package 2-3 times a month with all his favorite goodies.  He loves it!  It gives him an extra boost and he doesn't have to spend his own money on things like that.  They have a small refrigerator in their room so when he can he stocks up on food he likes to eat.  Communication is so much better now that he's in A-school.  Yes, study, study, study.  Lots of encouragement too :)

Hello Moms!

Just flew back from san Antonio last night to frigid Ohio. I was there for my HM's graduation from C school. He is now a certified surgical tech and is headed to to 29 Palms for the next 4 years!

I took a cab from our hotel, Home2Suites by Hilton (highly recommend) to the airport and there is a flat rate of 5 dollars from Ft Sam to downtown. Yes it is best they share a cab. Also my sailor HATED the food on base. They said it was alot different from Great Lakes. You must remember this is an Army base and as mine said, the Army is not known for the food. Yes send care packages. Where they attend school is across a parking lot from their dorms. The post office is there too. There are many food options on base and many great places around base as well. There is a Walmart very close to base where they can pick up supplies. They are allowed there own bedding. In fact yesterday morning, my sailor packed 3 pillows and all of his linens including towels and stuff.

San Antonio is a lovely town and I am going to miss it. Hopefully my sailor/son will be back to teach there. We even drove to Austin which is an hour away.

My son's PIR was March 1 lasy year! Are you going to his graduation? The Surgical Tech program was 6 months. They do 3 months of classroom work then 3 months or 120 surgeries around the SAT area. Yesterday, we walked around the Ni hospital which is right next to our hotel. He said the operating rooms are on the top floor of the hospital and he even sent me a pic one day from the top floor. The hotel, is also right next to the hotel I mentioned earlier. My sailor would check into the hotel after surgeries on Friday with his buddies and would stay the weekend. They have a military discount of $99/night. The best part of the hotel for the sailors was it has a kitchen where they would buy groceries and fix food and it even has a full dishwasher for their cleanup!

I just got a text from him a few minutes ago and he has crossed the California state line.

Yes BC sucks HUGE. Longest 8 weeks of my life. Trust me, it will get so much easier once he is in A school.

Taylormom, welcome!  The best group for you to join and ask questions right now is the HM "A" school one here:  HM (Hospital Corps) A School in San Antonio.  You'll find a wealth of information there that directly pertains to your sailor's progress right now.  

In re the food - I asked a corpsman who graduated A school in March and he said "It's all right, some of it's pretty good!" (direct quote) so it's subjective.  "Improvise, adapt, overcome" lol  They have plenty of options, they're grown ups, they figure it out, they deal with it.    

Anyone who joined the military for the food, what can I say?  They'll really enjoy the MREs in their future.  The chili mac is pretty good btw and Marines will trade anything for the included Skittles and M&M's I've been told :-)  

Hi all, my Sailor graduated school today and will be headed to Millington after some leave time at home. Was wondering if anyone knows anything about Millington..

San Antonio has the cheapest, best Mexican cafes around...just look to see where all the folks speak Spanish and eat there. Being from Austin, my son loved being stationed in SA after all those years at Camp Lajuene and on deployment...cheap tacos! 

Beto's...............OH Myyyy I dream of going back to San Antonio to eat there!!!!!!!!! I may have to go to C school graduation just to eat there....and see a sailor too.

Chenfongreenst Thanks for the info.  Yes BC sucks, and I am ready for it to be done.  I hope your son stays safe and enjoys what he will be doing.  Take care Kelly

Does anyone have suggestions for Anatomy Flash Cards or coloring book for new HM's going to A school?

Hi, KLO, take a look at the links above this discussion area for other groups for parents of those in A School...like this one :A School San Antonio  When my son was in A School, we had no knowledge of those cards or books...so I can't help you!

Dogs On Deployment  One-Stop Resource page for military members to turn to for advice and direction to all pet-related needs.

KLO, this is very good for A & P review before A school, and the chapters have self-quizzes - and it's available at Amazon for about eleven dollars:  EMT-Basic Review  

hey there my brother is a corpsman and he was wondering what he would have to do to work with red cross with disaster hit areas. I would love some feed back :)

The Navy can mobilize quickly to assist in disasters that hit here at home, and has: for example, following Hurricane Katrina, and as recently as Hurricane Sandy.  The news stories at those links will give you and your brother a look at what those efforts involved.    

So true Marcy....after Sandy hit our area, my husband was working up at a friends home. The Navy was patrolling the streets, helping in every way imaginable. He said it was such an amazing feeling seeing them there.