Corpsman.com

Welcome Aboard Chief INDY!

Da-Chief — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:55:49 +0000

Just and update..

I want to thank everyone who donated to our site before. Each and every one of them in the past years (Since 2004) have been and are appreciated.

I want to welcome aboard a new partner with Corpsman.com. Chief Indy, has come onboard and will be a major part of this site. We can’t get into the specifics now, but the terms will be announced soon.

Chief Indy has essentially saved the site. We are partners for the site and will be doing some major updates soon. We will be updating hospitalcorpsman.org etc and the rest of the site soon.

Podcasts will start soon, and not because I have an itch to get behind the Mic again, but my daughter told me it was time to get talking again. (I think she just wants me to set up the equipment so she can use it when I’m not..

Anyways, I wanted to take the time to thank all of you and to thank Chief Indy..

More announcements soon.

D/C

Corpsmen save crash victims

Da-Chief — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:03:15 +0000

Sgt. Major. Robert H. Brown Jr., left, congratulates Petty Officer 1st Class Louis Bismonte, right, after Bismonte was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal on Camp Delaram II, Afghanistan March 28. Brown is the sergeant major for CLB-4, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), RCT-6. Bismonte is a hospital corpsman with CLB-4.

4/6/2012 By Cpl. Mark W. Stroud , Marine Corps Bases Japan

CAMP DELARAM II, Afghanistan — Two corpsmen were recognized for saving the lives of mass-casualty victims during a ceremony here March 28.Petty Officer 1st Class Louis Bismonte and Petty Officer 2nd Class Frederick B. Ehlers were awarded Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals for their life-saving actions March 25, when a traffic accident turned into a mass-casualty situation.Both Bismonte and Ehlers are hospital corpsman supporting combat operations in Afganistan with Embedded Partner Team, Combat Logistics Battalion 4, currently attached to 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward), Regimental Combat Team 6.

“(Corpsmen) are never off duty,” said Chief Petty Officer Charles R. Schaefer, medical chief with CLB-4. “We all have to be ready at any time.”

The two hospital corpsmen were relaxing in their sleeping quarters when EPT interpreters knocked on their door, telling the sailors to grab their medical supplies and come to the Afghan National Army medical tent, according to Ehlers.

“When we got to the tent, the first casualties had already been brought in,” said Ehlers. “(The ANA) were making trips back and forth from the accident site, bringing back groups of the injured.”

A civilian Afghan bus had crashed near the camp’s entry control point resulting in 28 casualties, including the death of five Afghan civilians.

“We were working with the ANA medics to provide the first level of care,” said Ehlers. “If (the casualties) needed a higher level of care, we sent them to the (Shock-Trauma Platoon).”

The sailors had previous experience instructing ANA medical personnel with the 5th Kandak, 2nd Brigade, 215th Corps, in battlefield medical care, but had not worked with Afghan medics in an operational environment until the March 25 mass casualty, according to Ehlers.

“We are here to train the trainers,” said Ehlers. “These ANA medics who go to our courses will be able to go back to their units and teach others.”

The ANA medics from the corpsmen’s most recent four-week course graduated March 17 and had already left Delaram II to assume their duties at different units throughout the ANA when the mass-casualty event occurred.

The Afghan medical personnel working to treat the injured civilians were not former students of the EPT corpsmen.

“Like any mass-casualty event, it was very chaotic but the (ANA) did well,” said Bismonte.

The rapid and professional conduct of the corpsmen in responding to the mass-casualty event directly led to the survival of casualties, according to Schaefer.

“I saw the bus … and it was near totally destroyed,” said Schaefer. “(The bus) looked like it had been bent in half … if it were not for our corpsmen, there would have been more killed.”

Medal of Honor recipient dies at 79 – Retired Master Chief Hospital Corpsman William Charette

Da-Chief — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 02:20:08 +0000

Corpsman William Charette, who received the Medal of Honor for service during the Korean War, died March 18 at the age of 79.

By Gina Harkins – Staff writer – Navy Times
Posted : Monday Mar 19, 2012 17:36:01 EDT

Retired Master Chief Hospital Corpsman William Charette, who received a Medal of Honor for throwing his body on top of a patient during a grenade attack during the Korean War, has died.

Charette, 79, died Sunday morning at his Lake Wales, Fla., according to the Ludington Daily News. His nephew told the paper that Charette had undergone a couple of surgeries in the last six months.

Charette enlisted in the Navy in 1951 and joined Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, which left for Korea in February 1953. It was March 27, 1953, during the Chinese attack on Marine outpost Vegas when Charette threw himself over his patient during a grenade attack, absorbing the blast with his own body, according to the Military Times Hall of Valor.

You can read more ===> HERE

GI Bill students surprised when living stipend stops between semesters

Da-Chief — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:05:17 +0000

Going to college on government promises gets tougher …

By Rick Maze – Staff writer Military Times
Posted : Tuesday Feb 28, 2012 14:57:23 EST

Breaks between college terms have become tough on some students using the Post-9/11 GI Bill, they say, because they no longer receive living stipends during those periods.

The change is costing former soldier Luke DiRaimo, an Afghanistan veteran attending Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, N.Y., about $8,000 over the course of a full school year, he said.

“I’m an honorably discharged veteran who served in the infantry. I did my part; now it seems like the government is going back on promises it made me in my contract when I enlisted,” said DiRaimo, 24, who wants to become a geologist.

He is one of the thousands of veterans hurt by a policy that took effect Aug. 1 that terminates GI Bill benefits on the day a term ends and doesn’t restart them until the next term begins. The length of such breaks varies from school to school but typically can last three weeks over the winter recess or several months over the summer.

You can read more ===> HERE

Scholarships for children of Navy enlisted medics (oops .. did they get that right?)

Da-Chief — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:24:54 +0000

Navy Times Scoop Deck
Posted by Bill McMichael
March 6th, 2012

The Fleet Reserve Association today announced that it has established scholarships for the children of enlisted Navy medics. The Colonel Hazel Elizabeth Benn Scholarship Fund provides a $2,000 scholarship to an unmarried, dependent child of those who have served or are now serving” in the Navy “as enlisted medical personnel with the U.S. Marine Corps.

”The Benn Scholarship is available to “qualified applicants” entering their freshman or sophomore year of college. The Benn Scholarship is open to all such children regardless of their parents’ affiliation with FRA, according to a press release.
Other FRA Education Foundation scholarships are available to anyone affiliated with the Navy, Marine Corps or Coast Guard, either through their own service or that of a spouse, parent or grandparent, FRA says. They’re funded through private donations, established trusts and corporate sponsorships; recipients are selected based on financial need, academic standing, character and leadership qualities.

The deadline to apply for the Benn Scholarship or any other Foundation scholarships is April 15.

Go here for more information. Or, call 703-683-1400.

Navy Drug Testing Program Expands, Change Includes More Prescription Drug Testing

Da-Chief — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 03:33:16 +0000

From Navy Medicine Support Command Public Affairs

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) — Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) announced Feb. 23 that Navy Drug Screening Laboratories (NDSLs) will begin testing for additional prescription medications in May.

“The change is in response to an initiative from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in November 2010, which recommended expansion of drug testing to include the most common prescription drugs of abuse,” said Cheri Baird, deputy Navy drug testing program manager, NMCPHC.

The three NDSLs, located in Great Lakes, Jacksonville, and San Diego, are scheduled to begin testing for additional prescription medications May 1 according to a Jan. 31 DoD message.

“We have a projected implementation date [May 1] for the expansion of our drug testing panel at all DoD drug testing laboratories to include hydrocodone and hydromorphone [both semi-synthetic opioids]. Testing for prescription medications is not new for our program. We currently test for codeine, morphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, and amphetamines. We will now add two more compounds to our panel,” said Baird.

The NMCPHC provides leadership and expertise to ensure mission readiness through disease prevention and health promotion. NMCPHC maintains oversight of the three Navy Drug Screening Laboratories in the United States.

While these semi-synthetic opioids – along with codeine, morphine, oxycodone, and oxymorphone – are often prescribed to relieve pain following an injury, they are potentially highly addictive and their use outside medical supervision can place a service member — and their ship, squadron or unit — at risk, according to the message.

Inappropriate prescription drug use occurs when a particular substance is used outside its intended purpose, beyond the prescription time period, in excess of the prescribed dosing regimen or when a service member uses another individual’s prescribed medications.

“There were a lot of hurdles to jump in preparation – including method development, method validation, and funding. One of the final hurdles was the 90-day notification to the Forces, which occurred Jan. 31,” said Baird.

The May 1 date, set to begin testing for the two additional substances, was designed to provide service members abusing prescription drugs a period to voluntarily seek medical treatment and rehabilitation for themselves on a self-referral basis, prior to the commencement of testing for these controlled substances. Department of Defense and Navy policies indicate that individuals who do not self-refer for treatment and are later identified as positive for controlled substances for which they do not have a valid prescription may be considered in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for drug misuse or abuse.

NDSL Jacksonville Executive Officer Lt. Cmdr. Matt Jamerson said that the testing procedures represent yet another method the DoD is taking to ensure the health, welfare and unit cohesiveness required to ensure Sailors and other service members are maintaining the highest state of readiness.

“Vicodin, a combination of hydrocodone and acetaminophen (Tylenol), was the most prescribed medication in the United States in 2010; 131.2 million of the nearly 4 billion U.S. prescriptions in 2010 were for Vicodin,” said Jamerson. “There is a perception that prescription medications are safe because they are used by physicians to treat injuries and illnesses. This is not the case when a service member uses prescription medications outside of the time period or amount directed by their physician or when they use medications that have been prescribed to another person. In doing so, they put their health and the safety of their team, equipment and mission at risk.”

Navy Drug Screening Laboratory, Jacksonville, celebrating its 28th year as a command in July 2012, is the Navy and Marine Corps’ largest drug testing laboratory, processing more than 1 million specimens in fiscal years 2008 and 2009, and nearly one million specimens in fiscal years 2010 and 2011.

NDSL Jacksonville is a subordinate command of NMCPHC, which manages the Navy Drug Testing Program. Both NMCPHC and NDSL Jacksonville operate under the auspices of Navy Medicine Support Command, which provides a single point of accountability for all Navy Medicine education, training, public health and human resource management for Sailors and Marines as well as providing innovative and responsive leaders in health support services.

NDSL Jacksonville, along with their sister labs in Great Lakes and San Diego, NMCPHC, and NMSC are part of the Navy Medicine team, a global healthcare network of 63,000 Navy medical personnel around the world who provide high quality health care to more than one million eligible beneficiaries. Navy Medicine personnel deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, providing critical mission support aboard ship, in the air, under the sea and on the battlefield.

For more news from Navy Medicine Support Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/nmsc/.

AF Flight Surgeon Makes Mark During Historic Space Flight

Da-Chief — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:40:21 +0000

Maj. (Dr.) Vance H. Marchbanks Jr. interviewing 1st Lt. Felix J. Kirkpatrick.

DOD News .. Written on February 16, 2012 at 12:31 pm by jtozer

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) – The American public remembers John Glenn for his solo orbit around Earth. They remember Neil Armstrong for his walk on the moon.

But few remember how Col. (Dr.) Vance H. Marchbanks Jr., one of the first black flight surgeons in the Army and the first in the Air Force, made it possible for them and all other astronauts to complete their historic journeys.

You can read the whole story here: AF Flight Surgeon Makes Mark During Historic Space Flight

Corpsman.com Will be down on January 18th 2012 In protest of SOPA

Da-Chief — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:36:39 +0000

Corpsman.com will be down for 24 hours on the 18th of January.

We stand firmly against the SOPA and PIPA Bills.
You can read more information about these acts of legislation here:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/technology/2012/01/wikipedia-blackout-sopa-and-pipa-explained/

or here

Where’s my Wikipedia? SOPA, PIPA blackout coming

Corpsman.com is ANTI-SOPA

Da-Chief — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:15:48 +0000

SOPA and PIPA is legislation brought forward by the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives to help fight against online piracy.

There are many points for and many points against this legislation. It’s up to you to figure out where you stand in this whole fight.

We at Crux want to help educate everyone on these issues. Quite a few Major sites are going to go “BLACK” on January 18th, 2012 to show support against this legislation.

Wikipedia.org, Corpsman.com, Reddit.com, BoingBoing.net , WordPress.org, WordPress.com, and hundreds more sites will be going black on the 18th in defiance of this legislation.

PIPA

Let’s begin by first breaking down the first of the two bills that were introduced, PIPA. PIPA is an acronym for the Protect IP Act, and was first introduced to the U.S. Senate on May 12, 2011 by Senators Patrick Leahy, Orrin Hatch, Chuck Grassley. It is also good to take note that PIPA is a re-written legislation, the original being the failed to pass Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) of 2010.

PIPA, if passed, will give U.S. corporations and the government the right to seek affirmative legal action with any website that they see as enabling copyright infringement weather of U.S. origin or not. Here is a breakdown of all that they will have the power to do.

Force U.S. internet providers to block access to websites deemed as enablers of copyright infringement

Seek legal action by suing search engines, blog sites, directories, or any site in general to have the black listed sites removed from their website

Will be able to force advertising services on infringing websites, and those supporting of them, to remove them from their advertising accounts

Companies will also have the power to sue any new websites that get started after this bill is passed, if they believe that they are not doing a good job of preventing infringement on your website

SOPA

SOPA is an acronym for the Stop Online Piracy Act, and is a bill introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives by Represenative Lamar Smith on October 26, 2011. In similarity with PIPA, SOPA is a build on a previous legislation. This legislation being the PRO-IP Act of 2008.

SOPA, if passed, will work in conjunction with PIPA. As described by such entities as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, SOPA is nothing more so than the U.S. government and private corporations black list. Here is a breakdown of the power given to the government and private corporations.

The U.S. Attorney General can now seek a court order that would force search engines, advertisers, DNS providers, servers, and payment processors from having any contact with allegedly infringing websites

It will allow private corporations to create their own personal hit lists composed of websites they feel are breaking their copyright policies, ironically this doesn’t have any odd feelings of a legal mafia at all. These companies will be able to directly contact a website’s payment processors a notice to cut all off payment involvement with the targeted website. This payment processors and website of question will then have five days to act before it is simply taken down.

Payment processors will have the power to cut off any website they work with, as long as they can provide a strong reason of why they believe this site is violating copyrights

It’s important to understand the consequences of these bills.

You can read more here at wikipedia.org (As long as it’s not the 18th of January!)

Happy New Year 2012!!

Da-Chief — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:14:15 +0000

Happy New Year to you all..

Happy 2012!