Corpsman Moms

Marcy - Have you taken over TDM's duties on this forum?  Just wondering since I know she was trying to back away from it.  If so, congrats. 

Thanks!  TDM asked me to step in a while back, since her son has left the Navy.  She's still here, but seldom as she's also focussed on a music project involving veterans, among a million other great things she does!  

My corpsman also did the EMT training at his first duty station in Italy. He did a six month class in about 6 weeks! He said it was brutal, but he was pleased with how well he did. 

Now he is leaving Italy and going to CA and will be greenside.  I am not crazy about this, but of course he thinks it's going to be a great adventure.

Mombyheart - My son just went green in January and it is a big adjustment, but thankfully he's one that can go with the flow.  He is still getting used to the guys yelling "Doc!" all the time.  He loves what he does and I love the random text messages at 2:00 a.m. since he's six hours behind us now.  LOL.    I am much like you and worry about him.  Especially when I'm alone.  I have a 35 mile commute and it just hits you every now and then and there's no stopping the emotions when they come tumbling out. And he's only been on the greenside for two months!  Deployment is in his future, but hopefully not the sandbox.

Hello all. I'm new to this group. I have 2 sons who are entering Navy service. #1 is currently at boot camp with a PIR of 4/19. He's going Nuke. Son #2 (his twin) is entering boot camp 6/19 and has a "guarnanteed" rate of HM-FMF so after reading some of the info above I'm going to have to hold on and enjoy the ride! And I thought the boot camp roller coaster was bad! LOL

Welcome, Debi.  I have twin sons in the Navy as well.  One a Corpsman (presently with the Marines in Afghanistan) and one a Engineering Mate presently deployed on the USS Stennis.  It is definitely a roller coaster and we are here to ride with you.  HM-FMF sounds like your son is definitely going to the green side.

Welcome Debi!  Roller coaster ride is putting it mildly.  :)  My son is currently working on his FMF pin, stationed in Hawaii.  He stayed blue side the first 2 1/2 years before going green (attached to a marine unit). 

Wynona, I'm still learning all the differences but FMTB is a training that they go through similar to boot camp.  My son went through the training after A school and went to Okinawa.  He is currently working on his FMF pin; from what I understand it's more specialized field training but there are no courses for it.  He's been studying on his own and taking the tests.  He says it's really tough.  Several guys that went through FMTB training are still stateside at Navy hospitals (blueside) ; it doesn't necessarily mean that you have to be or will be greenside. That will depend on the orders that he picks during A school.  My son is greenside and wears the marine uniform.   Hope that helps. 

@jacketfan24, thanks for all these information. Really appreciate it. I've learn a lot about that in these couple days actually. And I guess we are fine in either way honestly. My husband and I are not against the green side, or afraid of it. We will just go wherever we meant to go. :)
What is he studying? What tests and stuff? You mean something related to FMF pin? What's FMF pin?

Here's a question for everyone. My son now has had two things go missing in the mail to him. Both were cards with money in them. They were sent to him by two different people. Is there anything he can/should do? I now have access to his Navy account so people can send or give us the money and we can deposit it directly into his account. He is stationed in Portsmouth and I don't know if this has anything to do with that but....

Seems odd to have two mailings go awry.  Were they sent to a ship/FPO address, the hospital address used for the barracks at NMCP), or where?  

If NMCP, we never had a problem with mail there; all I can think is that he speak with the post office personnel there, perhaps there's been a mixup - hope it gets straightened out.  Mailing there you should be able to buy the optional delivery confirmation, vs FPO which can't be tracked beyond the fleet post office.

I think the problem exists at all places. My daughter received Halloween cards in February. They were unopened but dirty. When I send anything in a box, I use a priority box and have a signature confirmation and tracking. I know some Sailors who have a PO Box off base because of the issues. 

Hello everyone! My son just graduated this Tuesday from A school. He is still currently in San Antonio for medical lab tech. I was wondering if there are any moms out there whose son or daughter went through lab tech school? If so, is there any advice you can give me so I can pass it on to him. He says it's going to be a tough 6 months. Any response would be great. Thanks!

I haven't been in this website in a long time.  our son is in Okinawa, he arrived May of last year.  At the beginning he was doing some nurse duties but most of the entire year and this year he is been doing some office work or sitting around somewhere in the hospital.   how long it will take for him to start doing the medic trainining in the hospital?  also, I would like him to take some College classes too online if possible.  it seems he has the time while station in Okinawa.   he is taking 3 wks vacation in July to visit his family in Chicago which we are looking forward to see him.    anyway, if someone has a feed back regarding the above pls let me know.   thanks

LeysaNvymom  have you joined the okinawa group?  here is a link to the group http://www.navyformoms.com/group/okinawa-moms

not yet...but I think it is a good idea....=)  thanks

Corpsmen ROCK! 

"Cope said that although he was just doing his job, the experience has validated his life’s work.

'All ten years I’ve spent as a corpsman and every second I’ve spent studying, it was all worth it,' he said."

Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/news/104273/aircraft-carrier-xo-recognizes-...

Great article.  Our Corpsman had to do this at the airport on his first leave home after Corps school.  We were so proud of what he had learned and to step up so quickly.  He was sitting at the gate and heard the call over the mike for emergency personnel.  All of a sudden he saw people gather near buy so he ran over and saw the fellow on the ground, grabbed the machine off the wall and yelled he was a Navy Corpsman.  They all spread and let him recessitate the fellow and the paramedics arrived.  His plane was boarding so he ran to get on and everyone applauded.  To this day, he doesn't know how the fellow made out but he was breathing again and awake when he left.  We called the airport the next day but with the new laws, no information could be given.

Great Story Marcy.  Thanks for sharing!  Amazing story Tamme and similar to what happened to my son.  He was on a plane traveling home for leave after FMTB when a passenger passed out. My son monitored him after he came to (due to an unsafe drop in blood pressure) until they landed. Talk about a high when he got home!

My first evening in San Antonio for my son's graduation last month let me see my son in action.  I had just for about the hundredth time asked him why he always has to wear that pouch on his belt with gloves.  About half an hour later I looked down the street we were on and a woman was lying on the sidewalk at an intersection.  She was awake but really out of it and was bleeding from her ear and head as well as other cuts from the fall.  My son whipped out his gloves and tended to her until paramedics arrived.  No one else wanted to touch her because of the blood and one of the women there was a medical assistant!  I'll never tease him about wearing his pouch of gloves again!

Is the C School for  Rad Tech/X-ray Tech very difficult or time consuming?  Are there any helpful suggestions, study guides, etc?

Tuesday is the official end of my son's deployment as he flies back to his duty station at Camp Pendleton, CA.  I thank God that he wasn't sent to the "sandbox" (I do keep those sons, daughters, and spouses in my prayers each night) but being where he was scared the bejesus out of me. 
In the past week, since returning to the States, he has passed 1st class and rescue swimmer tests, the EXW written test, and, today, the "murder" board for the EXW (Expeditionary Warfare qualification) pin.  So very proud of him, HM1 (EXW).   
Soon, my home will be a great deal more empty and quiet as he his little girl returns to Camp Pendleton to be with her daddy.  It has been a long nine months for her.  Wish Florida was closer to California!    

A note to all:  Tell your loved ones to keep on top of their records because my son's records did not include the 3rd and 2nd class swim tests he has taken in the past so he had to retest and they stuck him in the advanced class.  Thank goodness he is a strong swimmer or all his studying would have been for naught. 

docsmom - Celebration!!  Congratulations on all his accomplishments, wow!  Your home will be quieter, but you still have your friends here, and you surely have a lot of experience to share :)  And that's great advice to keep track of records regularly; passing that on to my corpsman!

From yesterday's Navy Times:  

"There are still nearly 4,000 Navy personnel in Afghanistan, but expect that number to dwindle as the Afghan government prepares to fully take over at the end of next year.

Sailors represent a small footprint in the current U.S. military force of 68,000, which will shrink to a fraction of that after the 2014 handoff and withdrawal of most U.S. troops.

The 3,930 sailors in Afghanistan include more than 1,400 filling individual augmentee billets, about 670 Navy Seabees, 100 officers and 430 enlisted with Marine units and an undisclosed number of sailors with naval special warfare units, according to Naval Forces Central Command. The vast majority of non-IA personnel are dispersed throughout the provinces in small units or individual assignments."

Thankful your son has made it back to the States docsmom!  The military is not a life for everyone and the sacrifices our sons and daughters make would make a "normal" person cry.  My son has been training wtih his Marines but came out of the field long enough to get a hot meal, a good nights rest and call me on my birthday this past Friday.  Put my mind at ease just to hear his voice!

My son has been through two deployments...It's nerve wracking to say the least..

I thank those Marines everyday for making sure my son was safe...They do and will take care of their "DOC". Very thankful that part of his life is over and he is now in Rota, Spain...

My sailor just came back from two years in Italy and is now greenside in S. California.  Glad he is back stateside, but now I have to worry he will get sent to the sandbox. Actually, I DON'T have to worry because I know God has his back and has each day of his life taken care of, but I DO worry cause he's my (adopted) son!  :)

For anyone with a corpsman at U.S. Naval Hospital Naples Italy, here's a recent Armed Forces Network story about recent TCCC training there (hi Max's mom!) -

grrr I hate it when embed codes don't work!  It's also here on FB - AFN Naples "TCCC Training"

Thanks Marcy for posting that.  My son is there and I saw one of his buddies in the video.  My son said he was in the class, but was not in the video. 

Another video - Episode 2 of "Scrubbing In" from Navy Medicine.  Navy flight crews train for hypoxia awareness and prevention, and to minimize injury from aircraft ejections and parachute landings.  HM1 Jeremy Owens is part of the hypoxia awareness training.

There isn't, but if you have questions, I know a good bit about it - my son was there for two years, then off and on while with a Fleet Surgical Team based out of Norfolk.  This is a good group to join for info about the area - Norfolk Sailors - Family and Friends.

Fourteen Naval Medical Center Portsmouth corpsmen are among 40 medical specialists sent to GITMO over the weekend to help deal with the hunger strike:  PilotOnline

Dear Ladies,

I have a question. I understand that it is uncommon for HM Sailors to be deployed overseas, right after A/C School or even BC??? Does anyone know whether wives could follow their Sailors to overseas duty stations? I understand that to any of dangerous areas or even on the moving ship would not be possible, however, what about Guam, Italy, Japan or any other non violent areas??? Do they have any choice where to go? I am freaking out just to think about it!!! Only going through the BC for 8 weeks is tough enough, but to think about them going for any longer is very scary!!! I am panicking already!!! Please help me and hopefully with the good answer that i would be allowed to follow... Thank you all!!! Take care, In Solidarity, marika.

Marika, sailors have to complete A school to earn the HM rating; and they can go overseas or to a ship after A school.  In A school, they learn about their options and express their wishes including a specialty which means C school; and the better they do in A school, the higher the likelihood of getting what they want.  However, the needs of the Navy will always come first.  As far as accompanying your husband overseas, you might ask in groups for Navy wives, in this group PCSing/Moving, or ask your recruiter how it works.  And don't panic, all will be better when you're informed, calm, and supportive, not freaking out.  The Navy has a number of great family resources, you have to be strong and they'll help.  :)  

Navy Medicine Spring 2013 has a good article - "I Am a Navy Corpsman."

Thanks for posting the magazine link, Marcy. Made me even more proud of my corpsman. :-) 

Corpsman receives Silver Star

HM1(FMF) Benny Flores will receive a Silver Star on Friday at Camp Pendleton. This is another truly OUTSTANDING Hero who has gone above the call of duty to provide aid to the fallen. 

Another corpsman that served with my son. My son is pretty proud of this guy!

Marika, 

If your husband wants to be stationed stateside, many of the corpsmen go to clinics in this country where they hone the skills they learned in A school before going abroad or aboard ship.  My daughter is in Rhode Island doing just that.

Great magazine Marcy - thanks for sharing.

Congratulations to Benny Flores!

Marika,

My son was stationed in Okinawa just after A School and FMTB school.  He is not married but one of the other moms in the Okinawa Moms group has a married son whose wife did follow later.  She didn't go when he did, but is there now.  They are usually there for 3 years so I think wives are definately allowed...I don't know about other overseas duty stations, though.  

Thanks for sharing the link for the Naples Corpsman training Marcy!  I was finally able to pull it up at home and enjoyed seeing it.  Sheryl must be so proud!!  My son was Max's sponsor when he first got to Italy!  What a small world. 

Navymassmomship....welcome! First of all, let me say...please don't make yourself crazy by starting to worry now. Your son is safe in the USA, working hard, and he could just as easily be assigned stateside as any place else. Basic to a military mom, worry and fear are part of life, but not all the time...sometimes you just miss the kid, but he/she is safe and sound in the USA doing their jobs. They are busy, busy, busy in C school, trying to get all that information in a few short months and might not be able to share with family and friends all the things they know about where they will be stationed, etc. Just simply do not have the time. Short phone calls might not necessarily share the information that would make you calmer. If you are having trouble sleeping now, I will suggest talking with your doctor about sleep aids or something to help you sleep. You need to take care of you, so when your corpsman is on the phone, or coming home, he has Mom! doing the mom things!  You are at the start of a very long journey, please help yourself find your comfort level with your son's occupation. He could deploy to a war zone, then again, he might not ever deploy to a war zone. Has he been through FMTB training? if not, then he still has that to go through before he might be assigned green side with the Marines. Even green side with the Marines, my son's first deployment was with his Marines on a MEU, cruising the Mediterranean on the USS Battaan.

I'm not trying to be unsympathetic,honest. You just need to know that your son is safe and sound right now. Be thankful for that! 

Kym, I know nothing about Key West! is there a group for that in the group section? We have groups for everything else, surely there is one! I think it sounds like a place to go visit when your son gets there...how bad could it be? Beach!