Photo By Lance Cpl. Kelvin Clark | Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 312 sergeant major, Sgt. Maj. Reginald Baker, from...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, S.C. -- Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 312, also known as the Checkerboards, left the Air Station May 20 and is currently deployed aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman. Before a squadron leaves a base, they must ensure every aspect of the Marines’ welfare will be met during a deployment. Two corpsmen from the Branch Medical Clinic and a flight surgeon have attached to VMFA-312 to serve as the health consultants during the squadron’s time away from Fightertown.
Navy Lt. Kevin Keith is the flight surgeon, and Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Legare and Petty Officer 2nd Class James Walters are the two corpsmen deployed with the Checkerboards.
Keith has wanted to be a doctor since he was 10. He has been attached to VMFA-312 for approximately 18 months. Before he attached to the Checkerboards, he was a Navy corpsman with the Air Force and served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
“After I finished my term [after Desert Shield and Desert Storm], I left the service to become a fireman, and then I came back into the Navy,” Keith said. “Being a firefighter and a corpsman have so many similarities. You trust the guys around you to have your back. Being with the squadron has been the best experience for me thus far. Someone has to keep service members healthy in order for them to accomplish the mission.”
Legare has been a corpsman for almost 13 years and has been with the squadron since 2009. Although he has been a corpsman his entire Naval career, practicing medicine has not always been a part of his plans.
“I didn’t want my parents to support me after high school and I always had good grades throughout high school,” Legare said. “Before I enlisted, I was going to play college football after high school, however, during my senior season, I received an injury and was intrigued to know about it. Ever since then, I always had a passion to be in pharmacy.”
Lagare is Fleet Marine Force qualified, which means he can deploy with ground units. For Legare, this is his fourth deployment and his first among Marines.
“The Marines with VMFA-312 have always been there for me and I have been there for them,” Legare said. “They have accepted me as their own and have treated me like a brother, not just another corpsman who gives them sick call chits.”
Walters, on the other hand, was inspired to go into the medical field by characters from the television show M.A.S.H. He has been a corpsman for almost four years, and has been with the squadron since January 2009.
“I love being with the Marines because they appreciate our company,” Walters said. “VMFA-312 excels in readiness, and the other corpsmen [with the squadron] and I always interact with each other, even on days when the BMC closes early. We are there with the squadron building camaraderie and checking up on all of them.”
Keith, Legare and Walters recently were a part of the Navy Hospital Corps birthday celebration, which commemorated 112 years of faithful and selfless service, aboard the Truman, June 16.
“I was part of the honor guard during the ceremony. Being a part of the memorial ceremony made me feel like I am part of a long Navy legacy and tradition,” Legare said. “When they called the names of the fallen corpsmen, I felt it deeply because I knew some of the guys who passed.”
According to Sgt. Maj. Reginald Baker, VMFA-312 sergeant major and the guest speaker during the birthday celebration, corpsmen do everything Marines do and have always been there. To a wounded Marine, hearing “Doc” means safety. Corpsmen have set the regulations and standards for others to follow for the past 112 years.
“We all gathered for the celebration to honor the legacy corpsmen have established,” Baker said. “They share our pain and will forever be memorialized in both Navy and Marine Corps history. They have always been there for us, and we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 06.24.2010 14:23 |
| Story ID: | 51909 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION BEAUFORT, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 430 |
| Downloads: | 159 |
This work, VMFA-312 never leaves without its “safety”, by LCpl Kelvin Clark, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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