Squadron Corpsman

[DocHand]

This is a good looking well organized web site. We (corpsman)are a diffrent breed and tend to stick together solets AVT's use this as a resource and keep the lines open.

Fair Winds & Semper Fi

[Da-Chief]

Just don't know about a guy called "DOCHAND"

:shock:

Bet that's what your pilots did when you came in the room!!

Welcome BTW, I am a AVT as well (VFA-204/VP-94). Loved the Aviation side of the house, now am a instructor at Naval Hospital Corps School. Trying to get Students to drink the cool-aid and go to the wing..

Have a good one..

Da-Chief

[crazycajun]

DOCHAND,

I'd have to agree with Da-Chief on the name....:shock:

Get your fellow brothers out there to come on in and joine the forums!

Though the wing is overated....no, i mean, shhhhh don't tell anyone about the wing side, us old farts need a place to hide.....LOL

What can I say, servingon 2 air stations, 1 aircraft carrier, and with 2d MAW.....

Though i'm not an AVT.....you can find us bug people everywhere!

Semper Fi,

crazycajun

[USN HM 350Z]

I wanna go swing with the Wing.

[Poolzer]

Have been an 8401 for 4 years and will be picking up 06 due to the merge of the community. After finishing up a deployment in Iraq last year flying CASEVAC with the marines and now in Kuwait doing the new Air Ambulance mission, this shall be interesting; to be an operational HM, a crewchief in a HS squadron and now doing the admin side.

[USN HM 350Z]

Poolzer wrote: Have been an 8401 for 4 years and will be picking up 06 due to the merge of the community. After finishing up a deployment in Iraq last year flying CASEVAC with the marines and now in Kuwait doing the new Air Ambulance mission, this shall be interesting; to be an operational HM, a crewchief in a HS squadron and now doing the admin side.





Who were you with? Do you know HM1 Schucht?

[Poolzer]

He was with the group we relieved. I was with HMM-268, we were out there Aug04-Mar05.

[DocChez]

AVT's ok, if you don't mind paperwork. If you go to the wing, you'll do a lot of sickcall stuff (if your FS lets you). If you go to shore command, you'll do nothing but physicals and screenings. This is good if you go to a command and Av Med was a mess and you are able to turn it around. I fixed two Av Med departments and was properly rewarded. Not an AVT anymore...now an IDC at Parris Island (hoping to deploy from here).

PS...Good to see you're still around, crazycajun! It's been a long time! Still at Lejeune?

Mark Chesney, HM1(SW/FMF) IDC

[crazycajun]

Chez, yeppers still around this area, stationed up at Cherry Point for the time being while the ticker counts down to retirement! Should be retired in '07! Good to see you are still around and now an IDC...

Semper Fi, Brother.

crazycajun

[DocChez]

I was at cherry point from 2001-2002. Still might be some people there I know. That was my first tour as an AVT. Is Chuck Cruise still at Aviation Medicine?

[hm1park]

MAG 39 Camp Pendleton AVT Here. Just chiming in to say hi to all my AVT brothers..and sisters.

[Da-Chief]

Belatedly (SP???)

Welcome.. From a old AVT Fart..



HMC Crone

[MAWDoc]

Another AVT to add to the mix. All USMC MAW duty- Hornets, Phroggs & Herks (and Prowlers for a blink of an eye), East and West Coasts. Nice site. Hello Tracy.

[crazycajun]

Hey Chief...good to see you here! You should now have access to the CPO Only Forum.

[MAWDoc]

Thanks, Tracy.

Chez, I went to AVT school w/ Chuck Cruise back in 92. He's at New River now with a Phrogg sqdn. Might be deployed on a MEU right now, though.

[puckmedic]

I went to AVT school in 1987. I served with HS-7, AC op det Cecil fld, Mag 31, VFA 34 and HSL-46. My final tour was as Operational Forces Medical Liaison US Naval Hospital Guam.

I always thought any other NEC was not as special as us(still do). Other than IDC's there isn't a single NEC that can match us for knowledge and all around skill.

I retired last year, still keep in touch with a few guys. One retired, one active duty, one got out and is a police officer.

I was a manager in a hopsital, but quit because the boss started acting like everything was my fault. Had to explain to him that the SH-- pile was there before I got there. It was quit or choke him!!!It felt good to be able to walk away from a job that was giving me an ulcer.

So, moved onto sales- my time as an HM helped me develope certain talents for getting people to see my way. I'm doing very well emotionally and that's important.

I am in the process of being hired by a civilian contractor as a recruiter for the US Army and Reserves LMA(irwarefare pin) off.

Hey, it's a good deal, GOVT car, cell phone and I can make up to 80k a year. Not bad for a 44 yr old limping on a cane, highschool grad with a few college courses.

I will never forget where I came from. Nor will I forget the pilots and aircrew who never caught the wire again.

If you knew me on my active duty days let me hear from you. If I still owe ya money, this ain't really me

Dennis Lee

puckmedic@yahoo.com (mailto:puckmedic@yahoo.com)

[robby]

Just wanted to pop in and say hi. Spent a couple of days looking at the site before I jumped in. Im another AVT from way back. Im a plank owner of VAQ-141. Kind of miss Whidbey at times. Im still in contact with a couple of other of AVTs. Two from A school all the way AVT school and on to Whidbey. One is now a MD in the ARMY.

[robby]

Puckmedic, I see you went to AVT school in 87,what class number? I was in 87001.

[puckmedic]

No clue man. I can't remember what I had for lunch yesterday! I know I left NMRC SD on 17 July 87 and it was about a week or two before school kicked up. I got out of P'cola, went home in either late OCT or early Nov of 87. I know because I reported to HS-7 on the 10th. I was there exactly 2 weeks when i heard my dad died. Uh oh- STORY TIME!!!!;)

A submarine guy living in the squadron's BEQ ( we had five transient rooms on the second deck) waiting to go back to full duty was there outside when I made the call home. He was waiting for the phone, saw me sniffing and figured out what was happening.

He was a first class and he handled getting me over to the squadron, making sure I was not left alone, stayed with me to the airport the following morning. Even asked SDO if he could take me to the airport, they said no, but he came along and made the duty driver wait til I was on the plane. He really showed compassion and a sense of being a ship mate.

I never forgot and hold a special place in my heart for anyone wearing dolphins.

USS Bone Fish and USS San Francisco events allowed me to repay that debt. How ironic, that both events book ended my time as an AVT?

[robby]

Puck, sounds like you may have been a class or two behind me. My squadron stood up on 1 JULY 87 and I had been there a month or so.

Bubble heads are good people. My HMC of the Aviation Med office at Whidbey Island was a IDC SS type. Great man, he helped me out alot with a lot of things (alot of non Navy stuff). My biggest regret is not going to him and talk over about reuping or not. But HMC Jeff Moon(SS) was the tops.

[Socrates_TMNP]

Im glad im not an AVT anymore, however it provided me with some valuble admin skills. And now I hear it's merging with SAR HM, thats a good deal.

[VAW_AVT]

Hey Dennis-

We served together on USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) back in the late 80's. Like you I will never forget the USS Bonefish Rescue.

Seem to recall we were all up for three days straight dealing with mass casualties...

Once we got all 80 or so out of the water and into sick bay on the Kennedy, we had a fire in one of the machinery spaces (as JFK HM's will attest-pretty routine)-and then the poor bastards thought they had to go overboard again-

With 20 years of hind sight Dennis, our JFK medical team did as good a job with that as we could, with only one heroic Sailor on the Bonefish Dying at his post-the duty radioman as I recall- calling in the SOS...guess the JFK team can be proud of the lives that were collectively saved.

I'm living on Maui now with my wife and three girls, and am fortunate enough to have a good career. Often wondered what happened to many of my shipmates after I left the Navy, so I'm hoping this forum will grow.

Aloha to you, and fair winds and following seas to the HM community in an operational envionment much more dangerous than when I served-my thoughts and prayers are with you all-hope all goes will with your new job Dennis.

Ex HM3/8406 Steve Perkins
VAW-126 8/86-12/89

[puckmedic]

Maui? How the hell? No new job yet. That recruiting gig started talking about the money and the hours I was going to keep. No 9-5 there, more like 05-2000. sIX days a week, low base pay and a hundred million ways to endup a subject ofan investigation. I need less stress, noraml work hours and more pay than just around 20K (with bonuses for recruiting, but the territory is tough) in an area where we have had tons of army and reservists come home supine.

I'm working on a few more angles and nibbles.

Good to hear from you. Forgot about the fire on board JFK. Remember us all getting Nams? Well all but me? The HM1 (Gentry) thought I already had one so I got a FLOC instead.

The count was 89 rescued and three died on board: Radio man, Officer of the Day, and a poor sucker sitting at a desk too close to the fumes origin to get out safely. We found him in a space just fwd of the battery area.

I rememebr the chief who couldn't speak, looked at me on his way to the helo to head to NH JaX, grabbed my hand, wouldn't let go. I was the first guy he saw when we got him to the flight deck out of the water 2 days prior. He tapped my stencil on my shirt, then his heart and then he was gone.

Never saw him again, never knew his name, won't ever forget him. It was something I talk about all the time. On job interviews, I get asked what's one thing you're most proud of. My answer is the Bonefish story. Tears always flow at this point and I have had people sit there and be completely shocked at the emotion and the story.



I recently talked with some of the folks that were on the bonefish. you would be surprised to know that many of them went back to other boats and stayed for a long time. They asked me if I ever saw or heard from any one to pas son their thanks for being so wonderfully kind and accomadating.

The HMs get a huge thankyou from them, with out us, many wouldd have been in the hurt locker. The one thing they remember is crew of Kennedy just talking to them, reassuring them and asking about where they're from.

[VAW_AVT]

NAM's must have been a ship's company thing-never ended up with one either that I know of-

I don't even know if CVW-3 knew we belonged to them...?

Steve

[puckmedic]

Wel Gentry and a few others got NAMs. All the other three on the flight deck BDS did Genrtry Thomas, and "??" with me getting a FLOC) Not sure id any one else airwing oer ships co did. I was HS-7 and I was Plane Captain qualified so I was launching birds UNTIL patients arrived.

Remember Kennedy(HM3 type ? red headed kid?) I left mayprt as he was coming in. He was an IDC at Regional Support Group. Made Chief.

Casper, the tall red head (ship co too like Kennedy) last I heard was still in and a Senior Chief.

Always wondered what happpened to Tryon (Larry Tryon in the pharmacy). Wereyou still there for cruise winter 88- feb 89?

[puckmedic]

CVW3 the only place to be!!! Well they sure knew us when we screwed up. Other than that, the relationship between the CVW staff was exactly like that on two other ships I was on. They were just sort of there.

One ship some one stole 10 gallons of strawberry icecream and there was a huge shake down. They actually searched lockers two days after the theft. All the FSA's in the admirals mess were suspect.

So while they were searching berthing for a ten gallon tub, we were eating strawberry sundaes courtesy of a certian HM2 wearing cammies. Never jokingly tell me to help myself then turn your back. Amazing what a bio hazard sticker does to keep nosey people out of your reffer in AVR!!! Of course I was first suspect. Of course I transffered the stuff to other containers.

[Poolzer]

Am in AVT school now...10 weeks of this??? Dunno if I can stay sane for that long.

30 of us in the class, only 6 are from boot/A school. 6 1st classes, a dozen 2nd classes, 5 of us designated SAR, another 3 in the pipeline, another 3 want to be. Few APTs and the rest fleetee/strikers getting into the aviation side.

Am an e5 and have to have a battle buddy during off school hours...so great to be back in school:?

[puckmedic]

just tell them you were out with me. I'll say yeah I flew him up to TN for the weekend in my private jet. Nobody there would dare call me a liar, I'ld have to slap them.

Yes ten weeks of stupid silly school. Battle buddy? As an E 5 in pensacola!? Are they idiots there? Why is an E5 being treated like a child ? Go buy a blow up doll, they didn't specify it has to be alive or human right?


In the corporate world you would be considered a mid level manager. They treat people like people when it comes to off time. I can not believe that some one has the gall to set those type of restrcitions on a SENIOR Pettty officer with plenty of experience in the rate. Maybe I should call some one and then unload on them? Gimme a name and a number:X!!!!

Absolute BS. If they need a BUNO number for my jet, tell them I am not required to provide, serious "I was in TN with HM1 (RET) . He flew me up on his jet, yes sir." They can call me and I'll say "yep he came up for a little party in Nashville, all them country singers and such".

Somebody forgot to tell some one to treat E5's like adults.

[DocHoop]

Quick questions. Do you have to be an AVT to go wing? What is invovled in the day to day job besides flight physicals? I'm coming up on orders, I've done the grunt thing so now its time for something different. How hard is it to get that SAR C school?

[Poolzer]

Pre-Req's and req's for the 8401 / Search & Rescue Medical Tech (SMT]) pipeline:

Complete a Naval Aircrew Candidate Physical Examination in accordance Chapter 15 of the Manual of the Medical Department. Maximum age is 31 (Waivers considered).
Gather copies of pages 3, 4, 5 and 9 of your service record as well as any security clearance paperwork (if available).

Get a copy of your current EMT-Basic (minimum level) certification. You must be a Nationally Registered EMT.

Ensure you have no record NJP or Court Martial in the last 24 months. You must have a 3.6 or higher performance mark average. Provide a copy of Second Class Swimmer certification. To see how the test is conducted, click here. (http://www.sarcorpsman.com/swimqual.pdf)

All candidates must pass the most recent standard Navy PFA with a Satisfactory - Marginal or better in all categories according to age and gender.

Other Physical Requirements... To graduate Naval Aircrew School, all students must pass the standard Navy PFA with a SAT -Medium or better in all categories according to age and gender.

Prior to being designated a Search and Rescue Medical Technician candidates must complete the SAR Fitness Test (SFT) as listed in OPNAVINST 3130.6 series. This physical fitness test consists of 4 pull-ups within 2 minutes, dumbbell carry covering 100 yards stepping over four 14" obstacles carrying two 50 pound dumbbells in 2 minutes and completion of a 1 mile litter/backpack carry in 16:30 minutes or less. See OPNAVINST 3130.6D (http://www.hsc3.navy.mil/sarmm/pubs/3130.6d.pdf) information on the SARFitness Test.

Important note: If you can't complete the above items (ie pull ups), you can not and will not be designated as a SARCorpsman.


So once you have the above completed and are in the physical shape to do the above, talk with your career counselor an put in a request for 8401/SMT. You will negotiate for orders prior to transferring from your command into the pipeline.

You will go to 8406 Aerospace Medical Technician (AVT) school 1st, which is 10 weeks in Pensacola, FL where you will learn the admin side of aviation medicine. Designated 8406 upon completion.

Naval AirCrew Candidate School (NACCS), Pensacola Fl comes next, which is 3 ½ weeks of non stop dry and wet physical training (typical 2nd week is 3 hours of running/calisthenics break for lunch then 3 hours of pool training). Designated 8201 (air crewman upon completion) NOT 8401.

Depending if you get a station SAR (shore duty) command or an operational (sea duty) will determine the rest of your pipeline.

Shore-You have 18 months to complete your 8401 Category I syllabus which will consist of aircrew and medical scenarios. Upon completion of this you will then be designated as an 8401.

Sea:
Go to Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) school in either San Diego, Ca or Brunswick ME. 2 week course that will push you to your extremes, teach you how to handle being captured and basically the best and worst school you’ll have in your Navy career.

Fleet Replenishment Squadron (FRS) (Crew Chief School) for your type specific helicopter in either San Diego, CA or Norfolk, VA. 3 months school that will teach you the ins and outs of your helicopter, emergency procedures and search and rescue.

Head to your squadron with so much information you’re going to burst and start on the requirements outlined in the shore rotation on top of your responsibilities as an AVT.

Man, that was a lot to type...SAR is the best job in the Navy if you love emergency medicine. Green side is cool and all motivating, but our job on an operational side is the tip of the spear for HM's.

Questions?

[Da-Chief]

Yeah Can I get a Ice Cream with that?

;-)
Da-Chief

[diamond_doc]

avt...apt... i had alot of fun in the navy and alot of work.

avt was a tough job sometimes. especially when you have a flight surgeon who liked to disappear alot and everyone thinks i am supposed to know where he is!

[puckmedic]

Hey you mean you never learned to give creative answers?

I once told the admin officer that the flight surgeon was over at the golf course giving a lecture to the old retired guys on the need to walk the course once in awhile. The admin officer was a golfer and hated it when he went to play and all the carts were gone. He thought he was special, he wasn't.

another time, I told the CO that he was out of touch until tomorrow, something about a quick drive to King's bay for some submarine time because he was thinking of going subs next. "It just came up today sir, he couldn't reach you so he went told me to tell you. " CO hated all thigs submarine and didn't even want pictures of the things hanging in his squadron.

Iused to make stuff up and never once did any one question me. Of course the flight surgeon always came back from meeting with whoever the nex day asking what I told so and so. My reply was "well damn it, if you don't like my stories and can't play along with no warning, freaking tell me where you head off to, so I can stop stressing and making up lies. I could say "Dunno" and be done with it, but this way was more fun". That was it, after that sub ride thing, he always told me where he was going.

Of course once in a while I told a sea storyjust to have a little funand kept him on his toes. Luckily he was a good natured young lad, his wife used to say I was the topic of many a vent. HEEEEEEHEEEEEEE MUHAWWWWWWaHHHHHH

[puckmedic]

Now does anyone doubt why my life in the navy was an adventure? I had fun and the hard times usually were of my own doing. ;)

[dustmans]

USN HM 350Z wrote: Poolzer wrote: Have been an 8401 for 4 years and will be picking up 06 due to the merge of the community. After finishing up a deployment in Iraq last year flying CASEVAC with the marines and now in Kuwait doing the new Air Ambulance mission, this shall be interesting; to be an operational HM, a crewchief in a HS squadron and now doing the admin side.





Who were you with? Do you know HM1 Schucht?
I work with HM1 Schuchts on a daily basis.

[MAWDoc]

Poolzer wrote: He was with the group we relieved. I was with HMM-268, we were out there Aug04-Mar05.
Were you out there with John Blakley, Paul Hieber and Corey Munshower? Or did you relieve these guys? I know HMC Lenny Miller, Ed Brannan, Scott Ochs, Jeremy Moore (and the rest of the Wing guys out of this crew) relieved you by the dates you posted.

[Poolzer]

Flew with Corey, he stayed over there for a year (crazy kid!) and did a great job as our LPO with his experience with the previous group. I left with our adv. party in Feb so I could start training for the Navy Air Ambulance detachment that was being created, so I didnt get to meet our relief from 2nd MAW. Had 2 weeks to get from Iraq, check out of 3rd MAW, get back to Corpus, have a welcome back party, grab my TAD orders and head out to Ft Rucker, AL for the Army's flight medic school.

Still talk to Corey once a month or so.