Corpsman Moms

I echo Bobbo sentiments. Not what I expected to read today, I'm so sorry. My thoughts are with the family. Every parents worst fear.

I'll get an address. Probably not today or tomorrow, it's too much going on for the family today, but I'll be in touch with her. She'll need the contact as time moves on.

Prayers from this Corpsman's Mom.

Here is the link to make a memorial contribution to Wounded Warrior Project in Danny's name:   Wounded Warrior Project donation in memory of 

When I made a donation last year to Fisher House in similar sad circumstance, I put the family's name c/o the funeral home for notification and it did get forwarded.  Anyone wishing to do the same for Danny, the address to use is Longview Memorial Park & Steele Chapel, 5050 Mt. Solo Rd. Longview, WA 98632.

 In memoriam - Daniel T. "Danny" Malone

My prayers are with the Malone family.  I can't imagine the pain they must be going through with this tragic loss.

My heart is breaking thinking about HA Daniel Malone and his family!   My prayers and thoughts are with Kirsi and her family.  What a shock!  I will remember to pray for Kirsi and her family that God will comfort them in their time of grief!

My sincerest sympathy and prayers go out to Kirsi and her family - I, too hope they will eventually have some closure and peace. They most certainly are not alone in their grief and pain.

RIP HA Danny Malone.  So very saddened to hear this news.  Prayers to the family, friends and loved one's.

My HM is in Lab Tech C-School, he's been doing great so far and already has orders for his permanent duty station posted to his account, next week is their final exam. He's being very stressed out that he may not pass this last certification test. What happens if he doesn't pass it? He's too tense for me to ask him

Celinamae, he's busts out of Corpsman and becomes a barnacle-scraper/3rd class.

Seriously, he will probably pass but if not, and if he has done really well as you say, they will probably re-test him.

If his doesn't pass then he stays a Corpsman and goes to a duty station and can always apply for a C-school again.

Agree with Bobbo - if he's been doing well so far (and apparently he has to get to this point!) they want him to succeed; he'll be fine.  Certification tests are stressful but he'll probably surprise himself by how well he does.  Sending good thoughts!

Celinamae, I'm betting on our son, he'll be fine. Learning to handle that stress is part of the job...for him and for mom at home. And believe me, as a Navy brat and Navy mom, you can bet the Navy has handled this type of thing many, many times and will work with your son to get him certified. But I'm bettin' on him! Let us know when you hear!

Thank you ladies!! *hugs* 

Kirsi sent me a message. She came over to read this board..."what an awesome group of people sending their love and prayers our way." She's not up to responding right now, but I'm glad she's seeing the love here for her and her family.

Address : Kirsi Malone POBox 1356 Kalama, WA 98625

I have a couple of Navy moms who have lost grown sons in the last few years, Kirsi will be able to reach out to them when she's ready. 

Thoughts and prayers for the Malone family, May God carry you thru.

I was at my first Blue Star Mom meeting when a Gold Star mom came back to her first meeting since it happened.  I can hardly even think about it now.  Moms are SO STRONG it can literally take your breath away.  Bless her and her family. 

Thanks for all you to TexasDocMom.

Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom, I shutter at the thought of what certain Moms have had to endure. Lord have mercy.

My son was not assigned ahead of time. He and a dozen others were pulled early to fill a FMTB class at Lajuene, then they were assigned to Marine units who needed corpsmen. We were in full war mode in Iraq & Afghanistan at the time, don't know if that makes a difference. Whereever he is assigned, it's not forever, he can be transferred out at any time to where ever the heck they want him to go. Staying calm is the key, accepting orders, that sort of stuff...they watch for attitude and who leads, who follows and who is never happy. 

When my daughter was in A school the whole class "picked orders" after they had completed the first part of training (EMT) in order of class rank. Apparently that is not what they are doing now.

My daughter has been in Rhode Island for about a year and a half and in April started getting the opportunity to look at a list of openings and select four that she liked (my impression is that they do this once a month). It was indicated then that after a couple of months, if she didn't get one of the posted openings, she would meet with a detailer and they would work with her on her next assignment. That has not happened yet. At this point she has become very discouraged with the process and says that there are corpsmen at the clinic who have already been there for two years and are still waiting for new orders. I may be mistaken, but my impression is that the navy has found themselves with a surplus of corpsmen and doesn't know what to do with all of them all.

I wonder if they felt obligated to fill up all those new dormitories at Ft Sam with A school attendies until they got all the C school programs up and running. When my daughter was working with recruiters they told her there was no way she would get corpsman, which was her first choice, and then out of the blue they had an opening. It seemed like half the kids in bootcamp with her were for corpsmen school (I know this isn't true, but it sure was a lot).

This is just my guess, not based on inside information. Hopefully they will get things sorted out soon so that corpsmen don't have to wait around hoping someone will let them know ahead of time where they will be next.

I am also getting a picture of 'the brass' (or powers that be) the folly of assigning billets according to just one-sided happening...in this case, standing in A-school. Many factors can come into play with that 'standing'. I. E. previous knowledge of subject (whether previous schooling or pre-training on an individual basis), other time contraints during A-school (i.e. Spec Ops Training Class), the students ability going from classroom to battlefield, etc.

I think the review board has many criteria to judge the students by. They are looking ahead as to where they might be best used and then how they stack up against that stack of students (sic)!

Just my two-cents from seeing remarks on this board and my own son.

After talking to my daughter, it seems as though existence of dependents may be one consideration they are using.  The only corpsmen that seem to be getting orders are those with dependents.  There is no on-base housing for enlisted with dependents where she is, so I think they are eager to save money by moving those people to bases where they can house them instead of giving them an allowance.

Thanks CG2USN, for your nice comments as I am just trying to add to all the good already here. My son is a bit frustrated too. Think 'government' and 'Navy'! :-)

My son got the orders he prayed (literally) for. But he is still sitting in SA. The last of his class, I believe, because he is low priority since the flights to SD are at a premium now (summer) and they don't really need him yet.

It is the ole 'hurry up and wait' SOP.

Remember, much of the early rank is from things other than military items (Eagle Scout, etc.) and also the training goes from academic-to-athletic. BC and A-school are sedentary while FMTB and many billets are physically challenging. I can only assume that this creates an enormous pressure on the decision making PO's with all of the permutations.

Youth and patience don't go hand-in-hand. The only thing keeping my son from losing it is that he has so much time to wait for CP that one more week makes very little difference...and the fact he keeps meeting 'the right people' to show/teach him skills to be learned in future training. I would tell your son (and did tell mine) to find the next training manual and use his time to get ahead. Not exactly what they like to hear. Welcome to adulthood, right?

Bobbo is right! Patience is a virtue and I know my son is very lacking in it.  CG2USN - everyone is right.  Just tell your son to hang in there.  My son was very lucky in that he was able to choose his two duty stations.  His first was Italy and his second is Hawaii.  He didn't, however, have the choice of FMTB.  Around three weeks before he was set to finish A School, nearly his entire class had their orders changed to go FMTB.  At that time there was a need.  I think one of the toughest things military people have to deal with is they really have no control over their destiny.  Unlike the civilian world, if you don't like your job, you find another one!  The needs of the Navy come first and either they learn to go with the flow or they spend their life stressing, which is very unhealthy.  My son is slowing learning that and when the stress does get to him, he calls his Dad who is prior service.  It's a stress relief for him that's for sure.  Good luck to your son!

Amazing tourniquet saves lives!  My son posted this on his facebook page with the note: THIS IS HUGE. He's seldom that excited about anything...and he is right, this IS huge. 

TexasDocMom, Thanks for posting. First, I enjoy keeping up with things pertinent to my son. Second, I sent him the link to make sure he knows about it. Even sent it to a friend who's a medic for another branch. What a wonderful invention.

It seems there has been quite a bit of bad news over the last couple of weeks for us and maybe we need a little sunshine. It is summer after all. Since I have no musical ability at all, I love it when people change lyrics to a mega-hit. And notice the hat one of them is wearing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOrjcLJ2IE0

OMG where did you ever find them?!  Very clever, and good harmonies too.  Love Neil Sedaka  ;)   But I can't read the cap, too blurry - what is it?

Marcy, It's a Navy Corpsman hat. So cool.

KathyProudCorpsmanmom, You are welcome. Very welcome.

Haven't been on the site for awhile but Bobbo thanks for sharing the video - it was great and the tourniquet - wow.  It's great to have this sight for information, comfort and sometimes just a laugh when needed. 

gcnavymom, on our group for moms with kids in Iraq/Afghanistan, this is such a sore point! I'll have to share that with them. We have a "cyber bail" bond fund for those that lose it on someone stupid enough to say that to a mom with a kid in a war zone! 

Kirsi,

My dear Lady, thank you for your kind words. But it is we who should continue giving you our support. You are our pillar of strength, showing us 'how' by living your life. God bless and Memory Eternal.

Yes welcome, ProudNavyMom....be sure to check out all the links in the above box, especially this one: http://www.navyformoms.com/group/hmhospitalcorpsmanaschoolinsanantonio  Those folks are up to date on all the goings on in San Antonio! It's hot and humid here in Texas, hope your sailor is prepared for that! 

ProudNavyMom - welcome aboard! 

Kirsi - no words just (((((HUGS)))).

ProudNavyMom- Welcome to you & Congrats and good luck to your son!

I hope (and think) you will find this a very helpful site.

He's baaack!

My son just landed a bit ago in SD. Can't wait to see him. Hopefully soon. Feels weird to have him so close but not able to see him immediately.

When my son was being transferred to San Antonio after his 5 years with the Marines, one of the jobs open was being in charge of those groups of recruits waiting to class up. He really did not want to do that! He was a lot happier as an instructor at Camp Bullis! Can you imagine? keeping those kids occupied and busy while they wait?

LOL - there is nothing like it when they are fresh out of boot! 

THey have no patience...AT ALL! Plus, my son was walking VERY tall from Saturday on. He needed a good day's sleep with us! I have a photo of him walking around the gate area at O'Hare while waiting for his flight to SA. Oh my, I had seen that walk in so many John Wayne movies...and I know he used to practice it when he was a young kid.

My son will be leaving for SA on Aug 3 to start Corpsman training--I am almost certain he will have a wait before they class up. I know he is going to ask me--do they pay them at their regular E rate while they are there waiting for class to start?

I think as long as they do, he will be ok with the wait-- LOL!