DocSteve, where are you?

I have a 16y/o son who will be an upcoming junior. He is very interested in the military. Now we are trying to narrow down what branch. He had always mentioned Marines, but is interested in Special Forces also. SEALS, Air Force PJ's, etc. Recruiters won't talk to him until he's 17, so we still have time.

The other night I asked him where he envisioned himself when he was 40. He said he'd like to go into nursing. I keep telling him to think about your options, and plan what the best path is to follow in that direction. So we talked about Corpsman. I suggested it might be the best of both worlds, you are getting "on the job" training for your future plans, as well as working alongside combat units. And down the road he could probably get a free ride to get his nursing degree.

There are many enlistment options as well. So many questions...

My brother was a corpsman near the middle of Vietnam. After his enlistment was up, he got a job as a nuclear medicine technician in a military hospital. After a number of years there, he looked into becoming a physician's assistant, but wound up in the fire department as a paramedic.

I hope that gives some insight as to what may be possible from service as a corpsman.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
DocSteve, where are you?

Unfortunately, DocSteve hasn't been active on the forum for quite some time.

My father joined the Navy during Vietnam and was a corpsman. Did his active duty and then went to college to become a Pharmacist. He stayed in the reserves the entire time. He became an officer, and retired as a Captain. After Sept. 11 he did multiple over seas tours filling in for Army personnel that were down range. His civilian job was always there when he came back.

If you have any questions, I can ask him for you.

Proud of my old man.

I was one. He may chose to enter what I found to be an intriguing world. First, would be basic training and then Hospital Corps A school (the name may have changed, but currently it's at Fort Sam Houston, combined classes with Army and Air Force medics now). If he chooses to go for Special Warfare training, first stop would be Field Medical Service School training. Two branches on that tree for Special Warfare; SEAL or Marine Recon both have longer training periods and IIRC SEAL medical training is a bit longer to include BUDS. He would get valuable training, and hands-on experience in emergency, and environmental health medicine. Nursing is not the only option available (of course, he'll need to pursue his education...), the doorway to becoming either a Physician's Assistant, or Physician will be also a future option. This could be through a couple of different paths, but when I was a Reservist I checked into the USUHS program (Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences), but was too old at the time. All of the above, to include paths to Pharmacy, etc. could be open to him. The key is to be a good "Doc", and pursue his education. A classmate in college with a business degree became a corpsman with hopes to get into hospital management; she became a nurse instead. He may truly find his niche. Could become a specialist in a host of fields, or also look at Independent Duty school (during my time, it was almost a year in length) after picking up experience and E-5 at a minimum.

Someone currently an HM on active duty may have the current scoop, and I can speak only of the Navy (as it was in my years) but can't imagine the Army and Air Force not having similar pathways for young, educated, and motivated medics.

A friend was a combat medic in the Army. (Iraq deployment, might have changed since)
Since he was interested in being a Firefighter Paramedic like me after service I asked what certs transfer to civilian life.
EMT Basic was what my friend would end up with. He’ll still need to go through the classes to get civilian certs.
Which he should be able to smoke easily but costs and time are still spent. Some states allow challenge tests some don’t.

My wife, an RN who got her BS in nursing in 69 said that schools began to encourage medics/corpmen to enter nursing field by giving them hours of academic credit for their military medical training.

At that time there were lots of Vietnam vets returning from service. The nursing profession also wanted more men in the ranks. It seemed like a win/win to recruit people who already had medical training.

A friend, a Bronze Star Nam recipient used this plan to become a PA. I’ve met several RNs who came from the military medical ranks.

Pay can be real good too.

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:
A friend was a combat medic in the Army.

An EMS supervisor, in the fire department I worked in, was an army combat medic in Vietnam.

As a Marine, I knew quite a few Corpsmen. I learned through them that there were paths they choose/were chosen for along the way to get to their final preferred duty.
You can go as a standard Hospital Corpsman and be assigned to nursing duties at fixed hospitals/clinics, ship hospitals/clinics, deployed medical service facilities.
You can get selected for field duty and be attached to smaller ships, Marine or SeaBee units (and deployed with).
Then there are the ID (independent duty) Corpsmen that are, AFAIK, akin to a PA where they are capable of more medical services than a standard HC. They are assigned to Subs, smaller ships, and most of the Special Warfare Docs I met are trained to this level of authorization.

I can say that with the all Military members I've met, the ones I have the most admiration for are the USAF PJs. Truly a breed by themselves, trained at very high levels in medical knowledge, and absolute balls of steel. "So That Others May Live" is no easy motto to live by, and they do it with style.

My brother was a medic in the army. He spent many years with the 82nd and then got selected for PA school. Completing PA school came with a commission and he ended up making major.

If he goes the corpsman route there are many different flavors and I have no idea how they get assigned. Junior corpsman do everything from working on ships, navel hospitals and base clinics, marine units, special forces, and other. It would suck for hin to want to get into the marines training pipeline and end up being sent to a hospital somewhere.

You don't have a location listed so I don't know if there is anywhere close to you that may have corpsman stationed there for him to try and talk with. He would get the best advice from one currently on active duty.

ETA: anything the recruiter promises him, if it is not written into his enlistment contract, is a lie.

Thanks for all the responses. We have a lot to think about.

I do have a friend who is a local EMS supervisor, and he has a few employees who are prior service medics/corpsman. We are in the process of getting my son on a "ridealong" to see first hand, what its all about, and hopefully talk firsthand with some who have been that route.

As a civilian Paramedic I always admired the AF PJ’s the most. I had a partner while working 911 for awhile that was one. Stress that he needs to keep getting educated. A career as a Paramedic is a dead end unless you get on with a fire department or continue on with nursing, etc. A fractured back kept me from doing more than I did.

I was at a couple of USAF bases with PJs. When they ran as a unit, they carried telephone poles on their shoulders.
I dont think the kid can go too far wrong with any service branch military medical school, including the USCG.
And education and taking advantage (volunteering ) of any opportunities the service provides would be a must.

Another thing to look at as a Navy Corpsman is becoming a biomed tech. The Army and Airforce path to becoming a biomed tech is straight electronics background. The Navy on the other hand trains some HMs in the electronic field to be a biomed tech. Navy Biomed techs get the best of both worlds training.

My little brother was a corpsman attached to a Marine infantry unit. The Navy Corpsman Training Center at Fort Sam Houston is named after him. The Corpsmen have the highest casualty rate of any specialty within the Navy. There are several different paths that a Corpsman can take from the hospital side to the combat medic side. All offer excellent training and skills that can lead to success on the civilian side.

One thing to research as a possible path afterwards is the Navy Commission Corps. They are a unit dedicated to public health and they do not deploy, they typically serve at a duty location. Many times it is remote or rural underserved areas. My first exposure to the program was doing nursing school clinical on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. We have a lot of corps members assigned to the hospital that I work at here in Anchorage including one of my supervisors. The corps offers fantastic pay and benefits with paid continuing education. Most that I work with are either nurses of pharmacists but we also have doctors and surgeons from the corps assigned to our hospital.

Good luck to your son in whichever path he choses.