Curious

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

For those of you who went FMF, how did the Marines treat you? My friend who's a Marine keeps discouraging from going FMF because most the guys in his unit treat their HM like crap and he's really worried about it with me being female [like he's not bad as it is :rolleyes:]. But then AT1 talks about how protective they are over their HMs. The example he gave was an HM sitting in a bar and some guy coming up to mess with them. Then the rest of the Marine unit that was there stood up and surrounded their HM asking the other guy, "are you messing with our doc?" ANYWAY. I suppose it depends, right? But still, what's everyone's experiance??? I know how those Jarheads are considering I've dated a couple and half my friends are Marines, but how are they toward their HMs?

[AngieH.89]

From what I've heard, they treat their Doc with as much respect as they've earned. If you're good at what you do and prove yourself to them, expect loyalty to the death.

[8404]

...I suppose it depends, right?

Absolutely! It all depends on 'your' attitude. As a former infantry Marine myself, I can attest there isn't anything a Marine would not do for their Doc.

However, as far as being treated well! If you come greenside and refuse to do our training, constantly complaining that you're Navy and didn't join the Marine Corps, you will more in likely be ignored/chastised to say the least. Oh sure, we'll address you as Petty Officer but never Doc! We'll extend all the military courtesies and speak to you during the course of business such as sick call etc.. But you'll never be accepted as one of us!

I wrote post a ways back regarding two of our Corpsman. One, was so motivated it made us look bad. lmao He would do anything and everything we did and darn if he didn't do it better and faster! It was funny when the company would go on an extended run and he would be first across the finish line. Standing there, giving us %$@# and saying what's wrong Marine? ha ha ha He was a great guy, a heck of a Doc and we all respected him! Our other Corpsman, refused to do any of our stuff, didn't make formations with us and stayed pretty much at the BAS unless he was forced to attend something. Consequently, he was chatised by us Marines and never called Doc!

Were not asking you to assimilate into a Marine, but don't come to us with a pansy attitude, worried about your manicure (men or woman), and complain that you shouldn't be with the Marines!

You'll learn at FMTB that it is the Marines who give the Corpsman the title of 'Doc'. It must be earned!

It all has to do with attitude. Just my take on the subject based upon my own experiences.

From what I've heard, they treat their Doc with as much respect as they've earned. If you're good at what you do and prove yourself to them, expect loyalty to the death.

Bingo, Angie nailed it! oorah.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

If I decide to go FMF, I definitely want to be able to keep up with them. There's no way I'd join and sit on the side lines, so to speak. That's ridiculous. I love my Marine Corps and I'm very proud of all of them, but I want to make sure that my hard work would be appriciated by most. And I'm glad to have finally found an answer [the other forums I go to are not NEARLY as helpful]. I'm thinking of going blueside first and later going green. Do you think I'll be able to do college as easily while with FMF?

[8404]

Do you think I'll be able to do college as easily while with FMF?

It depends on where you're stationed or deployed to.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Good to know, good to know. :]

Another question. Suppose I get my Nursing degree while I'm in then decide to do the Seaman to Admiral program and become an Officer RN. They can go FMF as well, correct??

[thatSPIKYflip]

Good to know, good to know. :]

Another question. Suppose I get my Nursing degree while I'm in then decide to do the Seaman to Admiral program and become an Officer RN. They can go FMF as well, correct??

Hey there Wild Irish Rose,

Before I answer, I'd just like to make a note that I am definitely NOT an expert on the Navy or being a Corpsman, seeing as I'm just a high school kid, but I have done a lot of research because I'm thinking of joining the Navy later in life. Now on to my answer:

If you have ANY Bachelor's degree, you cannot participate in the Seaman to Admiral-21 Program. This program is for sailors who do not have degrees and want to get a commission as an officer. I'm not sure how you would go about becoming an Officer in the Nurse Corps if you're enlisted and have the Nursing degree. (On a side note, I'm planning on getting commissioned into the Medical Corps, but thats another story.) From what I've heard, there are medical hospitals on the field with Marines, but they are no where near the front lines (for obvious reasons). At these hospitals, there are all the medical personnel that you would expect.

Hope I helped, and thank you for serving.

[8404]

Great answer spiky;

Except there are no 'front lines' in the middle east. It's ALL dangerous over there. Rose may be able to apply for Officer Candidate School.

[TLB1223]

Bell,
You can also look into the MECP (Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program). It is a program that you apply for and then the Navy will pay you to finish school, get your Bachelor's in Nursing then get commissioned as an officer...here are some links I got last week during the Chat.

http://www.navyadvancement.com/development/navy-programs/medical-enlisted-commissioning.php

http://navmedmpte.med.navy.mil/mecp/index.cfm

Just some more food for thought :geek:

[nirvana6]

Well you probably heard from your friend that is a Marine about a bad Corpsman. Yes just like everywhere else, bad seeds slip through the cracks. The name Doc is earned not given, especially with Marines. In my unit, I was not called Doc until I got my FMF pin. Now everyone, including officers and COs call me Doc. In other units I know of, they are called Docs only after they prove themselves worthy, and some units they are given the title as soon as they arrive. Once you have proven yourself worthy, your Marines will have your back in everything. I've had a couple experiences where Marines did what you said, stood up and defended me (even though I didn't need it :D), but that is because there have been a couple times where Marines looked to me to save them... The Marine Corps motto "Earned not Given" holds very true, even to Corpsman.

For those of you who went FMF, how did the Marines treat you? My friend who's a Marine keeps discouraging from going FMF because most the guys in his unit treat their HM like crap and he's really worried about it with me being female [like he's not bad as it is :rolleyes:]. But then AT1 talks about how protective they are over their HMs. The example he gave was an HM sitting in a bar and some guy coming up to mess with them. Then the rest of the Marine unit that was there stood up and surrounded their HM asking the other guy, "are you messing with our doc?" ANYWAY. I suppose it depends, right? But still, what's everyone's experiance??? I know how those Jarheads are considering I've dated a couple and half my friends are Marines, but how are they toward their HMs?

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Talked to my buddy today, the one that was discouraging me going FMF and we got this all clarified. HE was talking about the folks in the clinic while I was talking about his actually Docs. He considers them his Marines and they all get a TON of respect from everyone. Anyway, he pointed something out to me that I hadn't really thought about. Being a female and all would they allow me to be "embeded" in a Marine unit, as he put it? Or would they just stick me at a Marine base hospital and that be that? If I go FMF I really want to be able to have the opportunity to go into a unit with the Marines, not just a hospital.

As far as the whole officer deal goes. One way or another I plan on getting my Nursing degree and in order to be a Nurse in the Navy you HAVE to have your Bachelors or Masters. Nursing, from what I understand, is only an Officer position. Anyway, there's no way I'm getting my degree first and then going Officer. I want the enlisted experiance and all that good jazz more than anything else. ;p

A couple more thoughts--
How long is FMTB?

And what should we be at physically? I don't want to be just at the min. reqs and screw myself over. And I only want to do this if I can get myself up to par... but I have at least a year to do this, so I'd hope I'd be fine. [I'm so paranoid at times.]

[TLB1223]

Talked to my buddy today, the one that was discouraging me going FMF and we got this all clarified. HE was talking about the folks in the clinic while I was talking about his actually Docs. He considers them his Marines and they all get a TON of respect from everyone. Anyway, he pointed something out to me that I hadn't really thought about. Being a female and all would they allow me to be "embeded" in a Marine unit, as he put it? Or would they just stick me at a Marine base hospital and that be that? If I go FMF I really want to be able to have the opportunity to go into a unit with the Marines, not just a hospital.

As far as the whole officer deal goes. One way or another I plan on getting my Nursing degree and in order to be a Nurse in the Navy you HAVE to have your Bachelors or Masters. Nursing, from what I understand, is only an Officer position. Anyway, there's no way I'm getting my degree first and then going Officer. I want the enlisted experiance and all that good jazz more than anything else. ;p

A couple more thoughts--
How long is FMTB?

And what should we be at physically? I don't want to be just at the min. reqs and screw myself over. And I only want to do this if I can get myself up to par... but I have at least a year to do this, so I'd hope I'd be fine. [I'm so paranoid at times.]



Bell,
The MECP program is similiar to STA21 program (Seaman to Admiral Program). You go enlisted and put in a package. You have to be able to complete your BSN in 24 months. So if you have the 2 years you need of school you are good to go..or you can take a few classes when you get to a shore command until you have enough credits and apply from there.

FMTB is 7 weeks long. From all the reading I have done it is what I call "modified marine boot camp with emphasis on combat casualty" You learn the Marine regulations and policies and learning how to take care of combat injuries.

Physically you need to be able to do the Marine PRT (If I remember correctly). During FMTB you will do hikes..the last hike is 8 miles and you are carrying a bag about 75-80lbs.

If this is wrong please feel free to correct me...I have been finding this out from the East FMTB site.

When you get stationed with a Marine unit you are given the option to stay Marine regs or Navy regs. If you go with Marine regs you have to abide their uniform regulations and pass their PRT (which is a 3mile run, pull-ups, sit-ups, push-ups). If you stay with Navy regs you abide by their uniform regulations and pass their PRT (1.5mile, pushups, situps..).

Hope this helps.

[8404]

FMTB East (http://www.lejeune.usmc.mil/fmtb/index.shtml) website.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

During this 8 week course, you will have a mix of classroom and field training. Emphasis is placed on learning field medicine by using the principles of Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC). This includes familiarization with USMC organization and procedures, competency in Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP), logistics, and administrative support in a field environment. Additionally, training will include general military subjects, individual and small unit tactics, military drills, physical training/conditioning, and weapons familiarization with the opportunity to qualify on the rifle. Completion of FMST results in the student receiving Navy Enlisted Classification HM-8404. See “Student Material” to download a copy of the Student Manual that you will use during your training (you will receive a copy of this text upon arrival).


PHYSICAL CONDITIONING

As with any Marine Corps command, physical training is a large and very important part of Fleet Marine Force (FMF) training and education. This course is physically demanding and preparation prior to reporting is extremely essential. A daily routine of running two to four miles, sit-ups, and push-ups should be adequate to prepare you. Over the eight week course, FMST students will hike over 25 miles with full combat load, participate in the Navy PFA, the Marine Corps PFT, group PT, Company and Platoon runs, and receive over 27 hours of MCMAP training.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Gotta love MCMAP. :]

Thanks for the info, both of you!! I'll have to really start pushing myself more physically. I think FMTB would be neat. Lots of stuff to learn and a lot of hard work.

[TLB1223]

Yeah if I don't leave early and my sister comes down for Thanksgiving or Christmas....she can push me and get me in shape....she is a boot camp instructor for the Marines. Plus, her boyfriend is also in the Marines..so between the two of them I will be ready to collapse...and loving every minute of it. :err:

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Haha, nice. Yeah, a USMC buddy of mine is coming out this weekend. I've been warned. Hahaha!! And then my other friend is wanting to do the Marine's ROTC program, so he's constantly running and then my other friend is in baseball! So I have a crew chose from. :]

[TLB1223]

Nice..I should move down there and train with you. lol.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Sounds like a plan to me. I met another girl off here who lives about an hour and a half north of here. So that's always cool. And I got an un-needed refferal off another site too [my recruiter took him over 'cause his other station wasn't doing ANYTHING for them], so I can run with him and help him with his math! So now you have to come down and keep me company too!!

[TLB1223]

Too bad I live in Tennessee...lol. That woud be a long drive....but since my town only has one gas station (as of an hour ago) that hasn't run out of gas....I will just stay here.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

HAHAHA. Wow, that's pretty interesting. I live in Phoenix which is a fairly large city. Not like New York, but it is the capital and all of AZ. So that's not really an issue for us. :p

[TLB1223]

We have more than one gas station...this town is about like Mesa or Gilbert....but most of them ran out of gas. Everyone freaked out during the hurricane because people were saying gas was going to go up to $8/gallon so everyone and their brother filled up every vehicle, every gas can they owned...thus causing a gas outage. Crazy people.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Oooh. Man, gas didn't do that for Katrina, did it? That'd be the dumbest thing. 'Now that the hurricane's hit and wrecked a bunch of stuff we're going to screw you over some more.

Mesa is where it's at as far as gas goes. I go out there all the time and gas is about 10cents cheaper at this one by the ranch. :D

[TLB1223]

Well when the hurricane it...gas went literally from 3.19 to 4.29 overnight. It has kinda settled back down to about 3.86ish..but most places are still out of gas. I am glad I filled up a few days ago before the outage..I would have been screwed. And I work like 20 miles away..that would be a long walk.

Not like we get most of our gas from the US anyways..doesn't make sense..but that is okay that is why the gas companies made BILLIONS last year.

I don't remember what gas did during Katrina, I was living in Washington state so we weren't really affected by it.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Goodness gracious.

Have they gotten anymore gas out to ya'll?

[puckmedic]

I was called Doc. I was further called SGT DOC because my SGT MAJ was tired of hearing about some guys not respecting my rank as an HM2. If it wasn't medical issues, they tended to ignore. One day, all enlisted were summoned for SGT MAJ call.

I was called forward and given a SGT Chevron. I wore it on my left breast pocket under the flap from that day forward. When I had to I wore it on my collar point to emphasis the point I needed to make.

My marines loved me, yet my tour was harsh due to a CO/XO and flight surgeon who were absolutely the worst three officers I ever encountered. I met a lot of poor excuses for officers in the flight surgeon world at Beaufort. Had it not been for those and the XO/CO, I would have had a better time.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Wow, very nice of your Sgt. Maj. Sucky that you had some poor folks to work with though. I suppose that happens a lot. Thank you for your input!! I really appriciate it. I've got a while to evalute everything, but I don't want to put anything off.

[TLB1223]

Yeah we finally got some more out to us...but because of the regular unleaded (87) being out people were using premium (89 and 91) ended up getting used up too.:err: I think it is funny. Gas sales went up 4 times what they usually are because people freaked out about the prices. Kinda like when 2000 came around and everyone thought the world was going to end so people stocked up on water and toilet paper...I just laugh about it...of course if I had ran out of gas because some people are spastic I would probably be mad.

[8404]

...toilet paper...of course if I had ran out ...I would probably be mad.

I can understand that one! :err:

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

People are ridiculous. We spaz out when we don't know what's going to happen and act irrationally. Our ancestors before us survived without gas, we can too.

[TLB1223]

Well our ancestors also didn't have the technology we have now. People wouldn't work 20-30 miles from where they live. I just find it odd that our state is the only one that ran out of gas...the hurricane hit Texas..and they have gas!!!! It is just this state...it makes me even more excited to be leaving. But of course...there are stupid people everywhere you go...:err:

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Exactly. Just hopefully the really stupid ones get weeded out... most of them at least... especially in our field. That woudln't be good.:nah:

[Doc_Stevens]

While deployed with the 1st Marine Air Wing, there were a couple of Marines sort of disrespecting me......not downright disrespectful, but it was borderline. The SGTMAJ overheard them and took them aside and after what I observed a rather one-sided, heat discussion on the part of the SGTMAJ, there were no problems after that.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Well, they're Marines after all. ;p There aweful at times no matter how deserving of respect a person might be.

Okay, so this is what I found out for those female DEPers/Corpsman who are curious about going FMF. I talked with Petty Officer the other day and he told me that, yes, females can be attached to Marine units. Not just stuck-in-a-hospital-somewhere units, but deployable. The only thing is that, being female, they won't put us in the front lines so if we were to get deployed we wouldn't be near all that. Which is lame, but oh well at least we get that much. Damn we've come a long way, huh ladies? From sittin' at home raisin' up babies, to goin' to war over seas! Woo-hoo. ;p :rolleyes:

Aaaanyway. So, my next questions are:

-- Would our unit go anywhere without us? [such as farther up the lines]

-- Would we be stuck on a base if deployed over seas or out like the other guys?

-- Would our unit always consist of all females [oh my God... the estrogen, I wouldn't be able to handle going FMF...] or would it be a mixture of both. [I'd definitely take dealing testosterone-filled bodies over estrogen-filled ones any day.]


Any other questions you folks have that I can grill NC1 about? :]

[8404]

...The only thing is that, being female, they won't put us in the front lines...

One exception to tell your NC1, "There are no 'front lines' in Iraq or Afghanistan"! Anywhere over there is front lines, it's all dangerous!

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

I think he was talking about anywhere in general, but it's a good thought that I'll have to check on. I mean, I know females get deployed over there, so female HMs should too, right?

[8404]

..I know females get deployed over there, so female HMs should too, right?

True that. Spend some time scrolling through this website, it talks about Iraq and Afghanistan and all the wars we have been in. It's all about American Woman in Uniform (http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/) of the Armed Services. I think this will answer some of your questions and make you even more proud of 'who' you are! oorah!

Some excerpts: "Mobilization for the Gulf war included an unprecedented proportion of women from the active forces (7%) as well as the Reserve and National Guard (17%). It was the largest female deployment in U.S. history.

Over 40,000 US military women served in key combat-support positions throughout the Persian Gulf Region."

"More than 170,000 women have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002, according to the Pentagon, nearly four times the number during the Persian Gulf War. Females now account for more than 15% of the active duty force. Over sixty women have died in service over there and over 450 have been injured."

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Yeah, I was reading some of those stories the other day. That site's really neat, thank you for posting it Tony! :D

[TLB1223]

Bell,
Have you heard of the "all female" sub they are trying to test out? I don't want to be anywhere near a sub that is going to be run by nothing but females. Talk about estrogen overload...cat fights...scary thought.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Holy crud... and when it goes missing we'll know why. They'll tear everything apart in contempt of eachother.
Uhg. I can't stand a group of females. All I've got to say is that it's a good thing I can keep quite and mind my own. Wonder how boot's gonna be with all that?

[TLB1223]

LOL. Well the difference is at boot you are only living with them..and you are also with guys during the day. On a Sub..it is like 6 months with no breaks, no testosterone...nothing. At least during boot you at least see the opposite sex and have classes and train with them. Like I said...count me out!

[8404]

http://www.pusscats.com/Cat_Fight.jpg

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Nice Tony, real nice. ;p It's perfect.
My friend and I started a fight that looked something like that... then it turned into a boxing match and him pinning me so I couldn't hit him again. Stupid boys and their larger muscles. Hahaha

Maybe we'll all be so tired it won't be an issue living together? Who knows. But yes, at least we'll have some males around, makes life easier. [Isn't that an oxy-moron? xD]

[TLB1223]

Yeah that is an oxy-moron...kind of like military intel. HAHA. It will only be an issue if you make it an issue. As long as no one lets the little things bother them..it shouldn't be an issue. It is all about learning team work anyways. During RTC, I will just keep in mind that everyone is stressed and we all handle it(stress) differently, so we just have to take a deep breath and figure out how to deal with the "drama" and make it constructive. Like..PT until no one wants to talk...lol.

[Wild.Irish.Rose]

Haha, great idea. I hate talking while I'm running. Run out of breath too quick. xP