HM2(FMF) Xin Qi

AOTC #89 is final.

8404, myself and 3 callers eulogized HM2 Qi on his passing.

I would like to thank HM1 Gutierrez, Doc-Pardue, and HMC Kloka for calling in to help us with the show.

It is always a sad affair when we lose a shipmate.

But let’s not lose sight that we have many other men and women in harms way right now who need our support.

I have also created a .wmv file in memory of HM2 that you can watch here:

We will be back on Thursday night for AOTC #90.

HM2 Qi was with OHSU DALLAS DET C from NOSC Austin, TX and volunteered to mobilize and deploy with 4th LAR out of Camp Pendleton, CA.

He was on foot patrol in Helmand Province when a suicide bomber attacked. Didn’t make it to MTF.

Our hearts and prayers go out to Xin’s family, shipmates, Marines and Friends.

The official Notification Reads:

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Xin Qi, 25, of Cordova, Tenn., died Jan. 23, while supporting combat operations in Afghanistan. Qi was assigned to Fourth Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Marine Expeditionary Brigade – Afghanistan.

For further information related to this release, contact Marine Forces Reserve Public Affairs at 504-235-6128.

I don’t have a picture of HM2, but when we obtain one I will post it.

D/C

HM3 Benjamine Castiglione KIA 03 SEPT 2009

We have recieved confirmation via family as well as local press (Livingstondaily.com I spoke verbally to their Editor, Thanks to the Livingstondaily for helping us out), that HM3 Benjamin Castiglione was killed by a IED in the HELMAND Province of Afghanistan on 3 Sept 2009.

(We will be hosting a online memorial service tonight (04 Sep 2009)  for HM3 Ben Castiglione.  You can watch/listen live @ http://www.stickam.com/da_chief .  The show will be taped and put up on the site tomorrow AM.  We start @ 9:00 PM CST.  Please attend if you can. **Please leave Condolence messages below, Hm3’s family reads our site.–D/C)

We will post more when we receive the info.

HM3 was from Howell, MI, and a article below was written about him receiving a Meritorious NAM while serving in IRAQ.

Our hearts and prayers go out to HM3’s family, Shipmates, Marines and friends.

A Special AOTC will be taped tonight to honor this hero.

Da-Chief
——————-

http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20090904/NEWS01/90904002&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL#pluckcomments

A 2006 Howell High School graduate was killed on Thursday while serving in Afghanistan.

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Ben Castiglione was killed by an improvised explosive device, the man’s family reported Friday morning.

The family was notified Thursday, but didn’t have further details. Castiglione served the military as a medic.

The Press & Argus ran a neighbors story about Castiglione on February 6, 2009.

To read the story, click here

For more information, visit LivingstonDaily.com.

February 6, 2009
Navy hospitalman is modest military hero

By Christopher Nagy
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

Ben Castiglione said he doesn’t feel like he did anything especially heroic.

The U.S. Navy, however, begs to differ.

The 2006 Howell High School graduate and current hospitalman with the Navy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal last fall for superior performance of duties during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In particular, U.S Marine Corps Col. R.E. Smith, Castiglione’s commanding officer, cited two specific incidents in the commendation — one in which Castiglione treated two Iraqi civilians who sustained broken bones and lacerations following an automobile accident near the Rio Lobo combat outpost, and another where Castiglione made a quick assessment and gave treatment to an unconscious Marine suffering heart palpitations and troubled breathing due to a scorpion sting.

“Hospitalman Castiglione expertly and efficiently treated numerous Marines, Iraqi security forces and civilians in basic health care and advanced trauma. … Hospitalman Castiglione’s initiative, perseverance and total dedication to duty reflected credit on him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and United States Naval Service,” Smith wrote in the certificate that accompanied the medal.

Ben Castiglione, on the other hand, addresses his recent recognition with a healthy dose of modesty.

“I definitely do not feel like any type of hero,” he recently wrote in an e-mail from Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. “Many Marines and corpsman did great things on our deployment, and — this sounds cliché — but I was just doing my job.”

The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal is awarded to members of the military below the rank of lieutenant commander, Ben Castiglione explained. It is given for meritorious service or achievement that exceeds what is normally required or expected based upon an individual’s rank, training or experience.

“I’m very proud of him,” said father Joel Castiglione of Cohoctah Township. “He’s done so well with this. He’s really excelled in all of his classes and training.”

Joel Castiglione was able to see the medal for himself when Ben Castiglione came back to Livingston County over the holidays, and he described his son as a “gung-ho, John Wayne type of guy” when it comes to his military service — a point with which the hospitalman’s stepmother agreed.

“He’s really into it,” said Gloria Castiglione. “We’re very proud of him, and very proud of everyone else who is over there, too.”

Ben Castiglione joined the Navy as a Marine fleet force corpsman on Halloween 2006.

“I always had an interest in medicine and wanted an opportunity to operate with the Marine Corps on deployments,” he explained. “I’m able to learn medicine while also being able to operate within the Marine Corps. I have seen what the Navy has done for people in my family. I have an uncle who started off as a corpsman and now is a doctor.”

Ben Castiglione’s rank is hospitalman, and his job is corpsman, which are to the Navy what a medic is to the Army. Because the Marine Corps is a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy, Marines “pull their medical personnel from the Navy to treat wounded Marines in the field, work in battle aid stations and for every echelon of care that is required for the Marines to be able to operate effectively,” he said.

“He was always interested in medicine,” Joel Castiglione said. “He just decided he wanted to serve his country, and he didn’t understand why the same people had to keep going back (overseas) again and again. He wanted to take his turn.”

It’s a decision that Ben Castiglione said he doesn’t regret.

“The military life is not easy, but I believe that I am a stronger person for it,” he said. “The hardships I have dealt with was worth what I have learned and the bonds I have with the Marines in my platoon. When my platoon and I have downtime and talk and mess around with each other, it’s like one big hilarious, dysfunctional family — and it’s a blast. We take care of each other.”

Ben Castiglione came back late last year from Iraq, his first deployment since joining the military. A Navy corpsman assigned to a Marine Corps division generally sees two deployments before being transferred to another command to share learned services and experiences to a more clinical level outside of field service, he explained.

“I believe that being deployed overseas, people think that service members would have a better idea of what is going on within this conflict than someone who has never seen that part of the world,” Ben Castiglione said. “Honestly, you don’t have time to make opinions of the war or why you are there. You are more concerned about making it back with your friends and getting the job done.”

As for interacting with the civilians in Iraq, Ben Castiglione said most seem happy to see U.S. forces.

“Especially when they were hurt in some way and we’re there to help,” he said. “As a corpsman, I am required to treat the locals just as I would my Marines, so I had great opportunities to interact with the people there. Most of the people who where not happy to see us were foreign fighters from surrounding countries.”

When it comes to the troops, Ben Castiglione said many are tired; however, he said servicemembers are always ready to act when called upon, and the withdrawal from Iraq and the refocus on conflict in Afghanistan has rejuvenated many in the military.

“A lot of people in the military, I believe, are ready for Afghanistan,” he said.

For now, Ben Castiglione hopes to only continue his time as a corpsman; however, his life’s plan will likely take him out of the military and allow him to use his knowledge and experience in the civilian world.

“If an opportunity presents itself for me to advance my medical knowledge while being able to be with the Marines, I’ll take it,” he said. “My long-term goal is to eventually get out of the military and take what I have experienced and learned, and become a physician’s assistant.”

Contact Daily Press & Argus copy editor Christopher Nagy at (517) 552-2826 or at cnagy@gannett.com.
Additional Facts
ABOUT BENJAMIN CASTIGLIONE

* Age: 20

* Residence: A 2006 Howell High School graduate, Castiglione is currently stationed with 2nd Armored Reconnaissance at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.

* Family: Father, Joel Castiglione; stepmother, Gloria Castiglione; mother, Carrie Castiglione grandparents, James and Frances Petre

* Career: Castiglione is a hospitalman with the U.S Navy.

* Hobbies: Basketball, paintball, spending time with his friends in the U.S. Marine Corps

* Awards: He received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal on Oct. 8 for actions during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

HM3 Strickland was Killed in Action last week in Afghanistan by a IED along with 2 Marine Corps Officers.

I have known about the loss of HM3 since last week, but we were not able to post it due to DOD not announcing it until today.  His Command in Japan had been notified as well as his family, but we don’t post until the DOD notification gives us the okay.

This truly hurts, during a week when we are pinning our new Chief Petty Officers, to have to do this as well.

Our Hearts and Prayers go out to HM3 Strickland’s Family, Friends, Shipmates.  We at Corpsman.com Salute you and will honor Eichmann’s memory.

D/C

Naval Hospital Corps School has lost HM2(FMF) Anthony Carbullido who is from the island of Guam, was IA (Individual Augmantee) over in Afghanistan on 08 August 2008(**Corrected from 07 August to 08 August Per DOD Notification).  I know the family has been notified as well as NHCS.

You can leave a condolence message @ CONDOLENCE

This hits home for me as this Doc was stationed there when I was at NHCS.  He was killed by an IED.

I will post more info when it is released to me.

Once again, the family notification has been made, as well as command notification.

God Bless his family and shipmates and friends.  NHCS, of course you know you’re in Da-Chief’s family’s hearts and prayers.

D/C

(**Corrected from 07 August to 08 August Per DOD Notification)

Our hearts and prayrs go out to the McMillan Family, his fellow Soldiers, Friends and loved ones.  The “DOC” Community will miss this hero. We at Corpsman.com Grieve for this loved ones loss.  Condolences can be left in the Scuttlebutt Forums here: Condolences

Lexington soldier dies in Iraq, family says
By Michael White
Kentucky.com

Spec. William McMillan is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, a student at the University of Kentucky.
Spec. William McMillan III was destined for the military, like his father, and loved working in the medical field, like his mother.

McMillan died in Iraq Tuesday, said his family, who lives in Lexington.

An Army medic based at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, he was traveling with his outfit when his vehicle hit a homemade bomb, injuring five and fatally wounding McMillan.

McMillan, 22, was seven months into his first tour in Iraq, his family said. He had received the Bronze Star, his mother said, the fourth-highest combat award in the service, which is unusual for his position. His mother said McMillan seemed almost genetically inclined for his position in the Army. “It’s almost like this is what he was born to do, you know? It was definitely in his blood.” McMillan’s father, Gen. William McMillan Jr., studied at the Kentucky Military Institute and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., before serving in Vietnam, and his mother is a nurse at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Lexington.

“He was always the star athlete,” Marge McMillan said.

McMillan attended high school at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia, where as a senior he was captain of the wrestling, lacrosse and football teams, winning the school’s Athlete of the Year Award. He loved the water and in his free time enjoyed wakeboarding and boating on Lake Cumberland with his family, Marge McMillan said.

He attended Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., for a year before deciding to go straight into the Army.

After being stationed for a year in Hawaii, McMillan was deployed to Iraq as a combat medic. His family says he never complained about being sent to combat and believed strongly in the cause he was fighting for. He hoped to become either a nurse or physician’s assistant when his tour ended later this year.

“He brought laughter and light into any room he entered from the day he was born,” said his mother.

McMillan kept in close contact with his family during his time in Iraq, and his mother said they talked to him on the phone at least two times a week.

“There always seemed to be a crowd of people around him,” she said. “He told us people would just come to see him in the barracks, because he was such a hilarious guy.”

McMillan was not just a wonderful and loving husband, brother and son, his wife, Elizabeth said, but a hero and friend to everyone who knew him.

“I want everyone to know that he always wanted to help people, and that he was and still is a hero,” she said.

McMillan is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, a student at the University of Kentucky; his parents, Gen. William McMillan Jr. and Marge McMillan; his sister Lauren; and his brother Brad.

McMillan’s family said he will be buried at Camp Nelson, however, no date or details have been set.

We lost another medic today…
Ryan James Connolly, a 24-year-old Army medic who grew up in Santa Rosa, was killed by a plastic land mine in a remote area of Afghanistan, family members said Wednesday.

Connolly, who was promoted recently to the rank of sergeant, served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade based outside the town of Khogyani in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border.

He was riding in a vehicle with four other troops when the mine exploded Tuesday afternoon (Afghanistan time). One other soldier was killed and three were wounded, said his stepfather, Robert Nelson of Vacaville.

The combat medic had just two weeks left on his one-year deployment to Afghanistan, with orders to report to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey.

Improvised explosive devices, including plastic mines that are virtually undetectable, have become a constant source of bloodshed in Afghanistan.

According to the Associated Press, nearly 2,000 people have died in insurgency-related violence this year in Afghanistan – many of them killed by mines and bombs detonated next to convoys.

“He was a really strong young man – strong physically, mentally and morally, heart and soul – and a loving father,” Nelson said.

He said Connolly’s wife, Stephi, lives in Bamberg, Germany, with their 1-year-daughter, Kayla.

Connolly graduated from Piner High School in Santa Rosa, and joined the Army in 2005.

He had survived multiple firefights in Afghanistan. Just a few days ago, he phoned his father, mortgage broker Jim Connolly of Santa Rosa, and described being ambushed. His unit was pinned down in a firefight for hours after they walked into a village.

Connolly had taken a leave in April, bringing his family to Santa Rosa. During that trip, he bought a 1970 Chevy Nova and began to restore it. He had a passion for baseball, classic muscle cars, NASCAR racing and all things mechanical.

“He was in good spirits then,” Nelson said, “and looking forward to finishing the last three months and coming back home.”

Soon after Connolly returned to Afghanistan, Nelson said, a 10-year-old boy with a bomb blew himself up in a crowded square. Connolly was among the first medics on the scene – rescuing about 20 Afghans.

Nelson said his stepson had grown weary of the abject poverty and violence in Afghanistan, which Connolly described as “11th century with cars and cell phones. He hated the way women and children were treated there as chattel. He was a good man.”

The medic apparently never tired of practicing his trade.

“He loved helping out in Afghanistan, sewing up the kids,” Nelson said. “It broke his heart when he didn’t have enough medicine for a whole village.”

Connolly’s mother, Robin Nelson, lives in Vacaville. His brother, Mike Connolly, lives in Santa Rosa, and his sister, Kelly Connolly, lives in San Francisco.

“He was the best brother anyone could have,” Kelly Connolly said. “Very protective, always looking out for my best interest. He was a great husband and father. He loved his daughter.”

DoD Identifies Navy Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death a sailor supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Hospitalman Dustin Kelby Burnett, 19, of Fort Mohave, Ariz., was assigned to First Marine Division Detachment, Twentynine Palms, Calif. He died June 20 while conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan.

Our hearts at Corpsman.com go out to HN Burnetts Family, Shipmates, Marines, Soldiers, and friends who served with this young hero.

Condolences can be left here in our Forums:  HERE

We will be online tonight from 2000 CST to have a Online “Wake” if you will for our 2 Sailors. Hope to see you there.. go to the Corpsman.com live page.  We will also have our Chat room open in our forums if you have any problems getting in.

D/C

–

Live Video tonight 22 June 2008 / 2000 CST –in remembrance of HN Burnett & HN Retmier

Go to the corpsman.com Live page..

This will be broadcasted live over Stickam.  If you would like to leave a tribute to these fine sailors and have a Netcam, please register prior then log in. I will add you to the video feed so you can say your peace.  Remember this will be recorded so please think about what your going to say.  Absolutely “NO POLITICS” tonight.
Remember these heroes died in AFGHANISTAN.

To enter chat you’ll need to create a free account at Stickam and request friendship with “da_chief” – approval is automatic and should happen almost instantly.

Our Chatroom will be open in our Forums for Tech support for Stickam if your having problems. 8404 or myself will be inside to help you out.

Hope to see you.
Da-Chief

Sitting at a Keyboard in the dark night trying to figure out what to write.  I have done this to many times in the past.  I always try to honor each and every member by writing something different rather then the old

“DOD NOTIFIES Blah Blah Blah”.

Before you say, “Hey he’s being disrespectful of our Doc’s who have left this earth doing our Nations bidding”, I say….

FFFFFFPPPPHHHHTTTTTTTTT!!!!!! NANNER NANNER NANNER…

I know Doc’s.  I was one for 24 years.  I know Doc’s in the NAVY, ARMY, AIR FORCE, COAST GUARD, and the NATIONAL GUARD.

We put up with a “LOT” of crap from piss poor leadership and from great leadership who has to put up with piss poor leadership.  WE have been stuck in the mud and sand for weeks on end.  We have delivered Babies and buried Babies.  We have Saved lifes of our Comrades and we have buried some as well.

Some would say Doc’s have a Morbid sense of Humor.  I don’t think so, I think we Doc’s know how to do “1″ thing more then any other Rate, or MOS in the Military..

We know how to

“CELEBRATE LIFE”.

Yes I could sit here and cry over the loss of HN Retmier, but I am sure of one thing, If he could, he would come and “KICK ME IN THE ASS” and say

“CHIEF GET OVER YOURSELF”.

“See that picture of me helping this child, I made a difference.  Not many folks in the US or the world can say they traveled across the world at 19 years of age and made a difference like I did.”

“I was a Sailor, a damn good one too! I know my Chief at FMTB Grieves for me, but damn it Chief Pick yourself up as you have to teach other young hardchargers to do this job.  You did a great job Chief, I listened to what you taught me.  To be Compassionate but be a warrior.  I followed all the rules.  I lived life to it’s fullest. ”

“CELEBRATE ME!”

Celebrate my accomplishments and the accomplishments of all the other Doc’s who stand at Heaven’s gate with me tending to The Flock up here.

“We Celebrate you, Please re-pay the payment, Celebrate our life not our loss.”

To this I hoist a salute up to the falling sun and Salute my brother, my brother Doc Retmier who did the Nations bidding. I Salute his family, his friends, and his shipmates and Marines, Soldiers and other brave Afghani Soldiers who are standing up to this oppressive enemy.

I Celebrate you all.

D/C

We lost 2 fellow Sailors in Afghanistan today.

The Place that “DID” attack us on 9/11.  Two heroes will be missed by their loved ones, shipmates, Marines, friends, and Corpsman.com.

We at Corpsman.com grieve for their loss.  It really really hurts when we report these stories.

From DOD: UPDATE: (We have clarified that the PO1 was a Construction Man 1st Class , we grieve for him regardless of rating.  We wanted to be sure the  information was accurate as all rates should be proud of their rating on their sleeve.)

DoD Identifies Navy Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two sailors who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Hospitalman Marc A. Retmier, 19, of Hemet, Calif., and Petty Officer First Class Ross L. Toles III, 37, of Davison, Mich., died June 18 as a result of wounds suffered from an enemy rocket attack in northern Paktika province, Afghanistan. They were assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Sharana in Afghanistan.

A Navy hospitalman from Hemet, Ca. died in an rocket attack in Afghanistan on Wednesday.
Marc A. Retmier, 19, was assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team Sharana in Afghanistan, according to a Department of Defense news release.

He and Petty Officer First Class Ross L. Toles III, 37, of Michigan, died from wounds suffered in an enemy rocket attack in northern Paktika province in Afghanistan, the release stated.

He graduated from West Valley High School, where he played football and lettered in swimming, said his uncle Jeff Retmier, a captain with the Hemet Fire Department.

He was stationed at Camp Lejuene in North Carolina and trained at Bethesda Hospital. He went to Afghanistan in December 2007, Jeff Retmier said.

Jeff Retmier said his nephew wanted to work in medicine and knew being a medic would prepare him for that.

The family plans to bury Retmier at Pacific View Cemetery in Corona del Mar.