Photo By Sgt. Rachael Moore | Lance Cpl. Aaron Burgess, an armorer with 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th...... read more read more
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FORWARD OPERATING BASE DEARAM, Afghanistan – Sailors with the 2nd Maintenance Battalion Surgical Company, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), cared for 34 patients during their first month in Afghanistan, which makes them one of the busiest Shock Trauma Platoons in Southwestern Afghanistan.
However, not every day is filled with patients.
“It’s not like it’s all in one day,” said Seaman Nicholas Collins from Grimes, Iowa, who serves as a team leader with the STP. “We can go days with no one, and then the next has three or four patients.”
On the days in between, the sailors take time to further their careers by on-the-job training and studying.
Collins is a basic corpsman, but he’s learning how to become an x-ray technician.
“I think it’s important to learn all of the jobs,” Collins said. “If other corpsmen can operate the machine, and for some reason the tech is out, the mission can still go on.”
Another corpsman at the Delaram STP, Seaman Fernando Ciprian, a 23-year-old Houston native, is on-the-job training to become an anesthesia technician.
“Things around here run smoother with more techs,” said Ciprian. “When you know each other’s jobs, then you can help each other out.”
In addition to extra training, the sailors use their down time to study for the Fleet Marine Force pin.
“When a sailor gets his FMF pin, it shows he’s motivated, and it shows he takes initiative to become a better sailor,” said Seaman Apprentice Richard Burski, a corpsman with the STP.
The FMF pin is worn by sailors who are qualified and trained to perform duties in support of the Marine Corps. To earn this coveted pin, sailors learn everything from Marine Corps history to weapons systems used by Marines.
“I know more about the Marine Corps now, than I’ve ever known about the Navy,” added Burski, a Chicago, Ill., native.
Most of the information the sailors study is out of a book, but occasionally, they will attend classes for some hands-on training. Their latest class was on weapons.
“You’re not going to actually know how to do something until you do it, and that’s what these classes offer,” Burski said.
Lance Cpl. Aaron Burgess, an armorer with 2nd Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, taught the class on pistols, rifles and grenade launchers.
“You never know. If one of these corpsman gets pulled out for a mission, and a Marine goes down, they have to know how to take control of the weapon,” said Burgess, a 25-year-old Falkville, Ala., native.
After learning safety rules and general care, the sailors were able to get hands on with the weapons.
“It’s good to get the training here,” Collins added. “So if I ever have to climb up in the gunner’s turret it’s not, ‘this is what I read,’ but, ‘this is how it felt when I held the weapon.’”
After the sailors feel comfortable with the knowledge, they have to take a test to receive their FMF pin.
Studying for the FMF pin and on-the-job training is just two of the ways these sailors take advantage of slow days to ensure the STP is primed for whatever comes through the door or at them on the battlefield.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.19.2011 06:24 |
| Story ID: | 67345 |
| Location: | FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELARAM, HELMAND PROVINCE, AF |
| Web Views: | 399 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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