Photo By Chief Petty Officer Jacquelyn Childs | SAN ANTONIO (June 15, 2017) Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Tanya Carlson, left,...... read more read more
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SAN ANTONIO – Sailors and staff from Navy Medicine Education, Training and Logistics Command (NMETLC) gathered to celebrate the 119th birthday of the Hospital Corpsman (HM) rate during a cake-cutting ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio – Fort Sam Houston, Texas, June 15.
The celebration focused on the history of the HM rate as well as NMETLC staff’s unique impact on the future of the rate as the leaders in Navy Medicine’s education and training.
“Hospital corpsmen continue to serve at sea and ashore, as well as embedded with Marine Corps, special warfare and joint-service units worldwide, providing expert medical support, treatment and training to 322,421 Sailors and 188,800 Marines,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Juan Garcia, the master of ceremonies, after giving a brief history on the HM rate. “We here at NMETLC have the distinct honor of developing and guiding the future of the Hospital Corps.”
Garcia, along with dozens of other NMETLC staff and subject-matter experts from around Navy Medicine, have been working on a mass revision of the HM ‘A’ School curriculum as announced by the Navy surgeon general in March. The new HM curriculum is scheduled to be implemented in early July.
“Today it is about the Hospital Corps, and it is a distinct privilege to think that we are preparing the future course,” said Rear Adm. Rebecca McCormick-Boyle, NMETLC commander, during the ceremony.
McCormick-Boyle expressed her personal appreciation for the Hospital Corps and all they do for Navy Medicine and the Navy and Marine Corps as a whole.
“Every one of us has stories about a hospital corpsman,” she said. “Every one of us has our own personal story. When I came in as a nurse, it was a hospital corpsman who taught me.”
One of the oldest rates in the Navy, the Hospital Corps was formally established June 17, 1898 by President William McKinley and has a long and rich heritage. Hospital corpsmen were there to provide immediate life-saving care in every major battle since even before their official inception. The Hospital Corps remains one of the most ‘decorated’ rates with hundreds of personal awards, including 22 Medals of Honor, 22 Navy Crosses and 237 Silver Stars.
NMETLC’s celebration included the reading of birthday messages from the Navy Surgeon General, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the directors or chiefs of the six individual corps in Navy Medicine including Medical, Dental, Medical Service, Nurse, Hospital and Civilian. These messages were immediately followed by a ceremonial cake cutting by the youngest and oldest HMs present.
| Date Taken: | 06.15.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.16.2017 12:02 |
| Story ID: | 238199 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 688 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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