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KUWAIT–Forward deployed Corpsmen and Marines attached to Special Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Central Command participate in physical challenges to honor the conception of the Navy Hospital Corps. This year the Hospital Corps celebrates its 121st birthday.
The Hospital Corps is the only corps in the Navy comprised of both enlisted and commissioned officers–it is also the most decorated. Throughout history, in conflicts from the Spanish American War to current day campaigns, corpsmen have been awarded 23 Medals of Honor, 174 Navy Crosses, 31 Distinguished Service Medals, 946 Silver Stars, and 1,582 Bronze Stars for heroics under fire.
In recognition of the service and legacy of past and present corpsmen, U.S. Navy Sailors and U.S. Marines participated in a physical competition called ‘The Corpsman Cup’, which consisted of a one-mile obstacle course with stations paying tribute to several of the distinguished Hospital Corps Medal of Honor recipients. One station paid homage to Medal of Honor recipient, Petty Officer 3rd Class Robert R. Ingram, during which corpsman had to low crawl to the casualty and properly administer an IV bag while wrapping their own hand over a simulated a gunshot wound.
“The Hospital Corpsman Cup is for corpsmen to get together and pay respect to their past and celebrate their heritage,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Justin Fish, chairman of the SPMAGTF-CR-CC 121st Birthday of the Hospital Corps celebration. “The theme for celebration is legacy; so we tried to implement as much of the past into the present.”
The military birthday celebration usually involves a ball committee, fundraising and tickets. To the forward deployed, it’s a lot simpler. The celebration consists of a small cake cutting ceremony with Marines and Sailors. Corpsman honored Medal of Honor recipients and prisoners of war with speeches and readings followed by reciting the ‘Corpsman Pledge’.
The Navy Hospital Corps has over 30,000 sailors in more than 40 different specialties spanning the globe to support Navy and Marine Corps disaster relief, humanitarian assistance and combat operations.
“Being forward deployed on the birthday really brings us back to our roots,” said Fish. “In a lot of ways the more simple the celebration, the more genuine it is.”
| Date Taken: | 06.17.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2019 12:46 |
| Story ID: | 328299 |
| Location: | KW |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Happy Birthday Doc: SPMAGTF-CR-CC 19.1, by LCpl Jack Howell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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