The Navy's Hospital Corps.

The Navy’s Hospital Corps. Going strong for 124 years.

In 2007, I was wasting my life. I had just finished my second semester at the University of Southern Mississippi. The first semester had gone fine but I quickly got bored and started looking for other avenues to pique my interests. I joined a fraternity and the rugby team which both led to copious amounts of partying. I finished the semester with a 1.7 GPA and no real drive or vision for what the next few years would culminate with. My uncle, Kevin Couhig, confronted me on my behavior over the summer and said, “If you’ve never thought about joining the military, now would be the time.

I remember those words with crystal clarity.

I had graduated high school from a small Missouri town deep in the Ozarks and, like in many small towns, the military was a viable option to see the world and gain new opportunities. Of my small friend group, five of us ended up serving (2 Sailors, 2 Marines, and 1 Airman). We all took slightly different paths based off our personalities. I was the last to join the ranks but am also the only one still serving.

My uncle’s words were the catalyst I needed. The proverbial boot to the ass that I needed to see through the fog of my own delusions of grandeur due to my lack of work ethic and absent pragmatism. I spoke to a retired Marine soon after and told him I wanted to be a medic with the Marines. He told me that wasn’t a Marine’s job, but a Sailor’s. I scheduled with a Navy recruiter within the week.

Fast forward 15 years and that’s the best decision I’ve ever made. I have been tested in training, deployed in support of combat operations, and had the honor and privilege of earning a Chief’s khakis.

What I’ve gained through this process is perspective and appreciation.

Service in the military is a social contract, nothing more and nothing less. It is a pathway to a warrior’s culture, in the truest sense: those who are sent off to fight our nation’s wars. That can be a cook on a carrier, a generator technician on a forward operating base, an artillery man with his Howitzer. That can be a special operator freefalling in to an objective, a seventeen year old Marine with his rifle, a Guardian influencing the cyber domain.

War is multifaceted and we, as instruments of war, all fulfill critical roles in the end result: the protection of American interests. It is not our job to determine who to go to war with. It is our job to trust our nation’s leaders to direct us wisely and then, when the order comes, to lead into the dark night with dedication to duty as our creed.

We serve our nation.

Now, to the Hospital Corps. If you are on a ship or with the Marines and you become injured or ill, you will be treated by a Corpsman. They are young and well-trained. They are like all people, ready to do the job before them. With dedication as best they can; with valor when needed.

23 Medals of Honor.

179 Navy Crosses.

959 Silver Stars.

I am honored to know a few men that fall into those categories and the stories are all the same.

“I didn’t jump over that wall and into machine gun fire to earn a medal. I did it to save my friend.”

These men and women are selfless, whether it is in the late nights of duty or in the violent call of duty.

I am blessed to have been surrounded by heroes for 15 years, whether revealed by action in crisis or selflessly serving alongside their brothers and sisters.

The Hospital Corps and the title of Corpsman has a hard-earned heritage, a legacy worth remembering. My challenge to you is to learn more of that legacy, to remember the costs paid by others so that you could live a richer life.

To the Navy: thank you for these opportunities. Thank you for having a culture worth being a part of. You are imperfect, as am I, but I am a better man for knowing you.

To those Corpsmen who came before: thank you for your stewardship. Thank you for answering the call, earning the title of “Doc”, and for leaving a path worthy of following. Your work will not be forgotten.

To those Corpsmen coming behind: fight the good fight. Serve with excellence. Remember that these sacrifices are for your friends, brothers-in-arms, and quite possibly the closest family you’ll ever be a part of.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down his life for his friends.”

May we continue to lay down our lives, running through battlefields to rescue our wounded comrades. Lay them down, doing sick call for sick folk. Lay them down, training up the next generation for the wars to come.

One day, I hope to be an old salt looking back on my time in service with a smile on my face.

Thank you for giving me that smile, Hospital Corps. Here’s to you!

Never above you, never below you, always beside you.