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Hi all...I was forwarded this email by a friend. Here's a good example of life as a Navy GMO in the 1st Division. I do not know this LT, but hats off to him.
The "Greenside" of Navy Medicine
The Other Side
It certainly doesn't look like the inside of a ship, but what would I know? I,
like most of my Corpsmen, have never been stationed on one. Our operational
experiences have been with the Marines only. So back to where we are. The
ambulance and litter stands sit in two inches of loose dust and dirt,
underneath an overpass that lies just East of Fallujah, Iraq. There is no
galley, no internet caf?, and no mail call. We have no lights, electricity,
running water, or walls. We eat MRE's, receive accurate mortar and rocket fire
on our position most days, and go a week or so wearing the same underwear and t-
shirt. Socks, we change every few days, knowing that if our feet go sour, we
are useless. Our connection to the outside world, and even the rest of our
unit, depends solely upon snippets of radio traffic and the ever-changing
rumors passed on by those who bring us wounded or just pass through. Supplies
are those that we carried and loaded on top of the ambulance, with a box of re-
supply
goodies from time-to-time via our evacuation ambulances.
The "head" is a spot out in the cloverleaf, or wherever you dig your hole. One
HM2 was relieving himself, squatting, within the cloverleaf, when mortars
landed close enough to throw dirt on him. Another fellow, a Marine who reports
the wounded we see to higher headquarters, was doing the same the next day when
2 mortars landed within feet of him. Thankfully, they were duds.
Most of my guys were up for advancement exams a few weeks ago, but it was just
like last year during OIF I. The majority of them couldn't come back from their
companies, which were engaged in firefights. A few managed to get back to the
main base, but after a week in combat, with 3 hours of sleep per night, they
took the test while their position received mortar
fire. Worse still, the exam was written from the perspective of a shipboard
Corpsmen, testing the knowledge that they acquire in that arena. How fair would
it be to test those Sailors, ones with no infantry combat experience, on the
proper techniques for clearing buildings in a MOUT environment, what the
effective range is for a Mark-19 grenade launcher,
or testing their trauma skills versus their "greenside" HM brethren who, on
average, have seen such trauma in too much and too frequent detail? Will they
be "awarded" PNA points even if they missed the test due to operational
commitments?
Completing Basic "A" School would lead one to believe that a corpsman's primary
duty would be medical, but in combat operations, they multi-task. I have
Sailors who have sat on rooftops and acted as a sniper's spotter, who clear
buildings and act as part of a platoon's perimeter security, who have had an
RPG bounce between their legs, and who have driven humvee's, stopping only to
fire their weapon at RPG-toting terrorists. This is the unknown side of Navy
medicine. It is a world in which the Sailors live, work, fight and die
alongside their Marine brethren. There is friendly joking back and forth among
Sailors and Marines, but I have never seen such appreciation and love for a
Corpsman or medical officer as when the companies brought in their wounded
Marines and Sailors to our triage and treatment center. All joking ceases and
there is utmost respect and appreciation.
Welcome to the Greenside.
LT Cormac O'Connor
Asst Bn Surgeon, 1st Bn 5th Marines
1st Marine Division, Iraq
The "Greenside" of Navy Medicine
The Other Side
It certainly doesn't look like the inside of a ship, but what would I know? I,
like most of my Corpsmen, have never been stationed on one. Our operational
experiences have been with the Marines only. So back to where we are. The
ambulance and litter stands sit in two inches of loose dust and dirt,
underneath an overpass that lies just East of Fallujah, Iraq. There is no
galley, no internet caf?, and no mail call. We have no lights, electricity,
running water, or walls. We eat MRE's, receive accurate mortar and rocket fire
on our position most days, and go a week or so wearing the same underwear and t-
shirt. Socks, we change every few days, knowing that if our feet go sour, we
are useless. Our connection to the outside world, and even the rest of our
unit, depends solely upon snippets of radio traffic and the ever-changing
rumors passed on by those who bring us wounded or just pass through. Supplies
are those that we carried and loaded on top of the ambulance, with a box of re-
supply
goodies from time-to-time via our evacuation ambulances.
The "head" is a spot out in the cloverleaf, or wherever you dig your hole. One
HM2 was relieving himself, squatting, within the cloverleaf, when mortars
landed close enough to throw dirt on him. Another fellow, a Marine who reports
the wounded we see to higher headquarters, was doing the same the next day when
2 mortars landed within feet of him. Thankfully, they were duds.
Most of my guys were up for advancement exams a few weeks ago, but it was just
like last year during OIF I. The majority of them couldn't come back from their
companies, which were engaged in firefights. A few managed to get back to the
main base, but after a week in combat, with 3 hours of sleep per night, they
took the test while their position received mortar
fire. Worse still, the exam was written from the perspective of a shipboard
Corpsmen, testing the knowledge that they acquire in that arena. How fair would
it be to test those Sailors, ones with no infantry combat experience, on the
proper techniques for clearing buildings in a MOUT environment, what the
effective range is for a Mark-19 grenade launcher,
or testing their trauma skills versus their "greenside" HM brethren who, on
average, have seen such trauma in too much and too frequent detail? Will they
be "awarded" PNA points even if they missed the test due to operational
commitments?
Completing Basic "A" School would lead one to believe that a corpsman's primary
duty would be medical, but in combat operations, they multi-task. I have
Sailors who have sat on rooftops and acted as a sniper's spotter, who clear
buildings and act as part of a platoon's perimeter security, who have had an
RPG bounce between their legs, and who have driven humvee's, stopping only to
fire their weapon at RPG-toting terrorists. This is the unknown side of Navy
medicine. It is a world in which the Sailors live, work, fight and die
alongside their Marine brethren. There is friendly joking back and forth among
Sailors and Marines, but I have never seen such appreciation and love for a
Corpsman or medical officer as when the companies brought in their wounded
Marines and Sailors to our triage and treatment center. All joking ceases and
there is utmost respect and appreciation.
Welcome to the Greenside.
LT Cormac O'Connor
Asst Bn Surgeon, 1st Bn 5th Marines
1st Marine Division, Iraq
