Search and Rescue Hospital Corpsmen Save Lives in the California Wilderness

RIDGECREST, CA, UNITED STATES

08.19.2021

Story by David Marks 

Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms

Search and Rescue Hospital Corpsmen Save Lives in the California Wilderness

The call comes in at night. Three women in the rugged terrain of the Sierra Nevada mountain range on the California/Nevada divide need help. Conditions are cold, dark and windy. The members of VX-31, the search and rescue unit aboard the Naval Air Weapons Station in Ridgecrest, California, scramble and are aloft in their MH-60S Blackhawk helicopter in a matter of minutes.
Such is the life of a U.S. Navy Search and Rescue Hospital Corpsman.
“We got up there and were able to land to affect that rescue. Our crew chief was there to assist and perform assessments. We transported one of the females to Antelope Valley hospital, about a 1.5 hour transit. She was complaining of hip pain and lower back pain. The other two declined medical care and chose to hike back down,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Peter Kieffer Jr.
The VX-31 Search and Rescue (SAR) team conducts inland search and rescue operations throughout the high desert, supporting military and civilian authorities. Their scope of operations range from the highest point in the lower 48 states (Mount Whitney, 14,495 feet) to the lowest point (Death Valley, minus 282 feet below sea level).
U.S. Navy hospital corpsmen come with a variety of skill sets. The general-duty hospital corpsmen are embedded into Marine Corps combat units and are also assigned to shore-side medical treatment facilities as emergency medical technicians. They can be further specialized into fields such as lab techs, surgical techs, optometry techs, pharmacy techs and a host of other medical subspecialties. Then there are the search and rescue corpsmen.
“Search and Rescue Medical Technicians performs aircrew and emergency medical care functions in support of Search and Rescue, MEDEVAC and CASEVAC missions for Navy and Marine Corps Aviation. Certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Triage, Intravenous (IV) therapy, medicine administration, use of emergency medical equipment, patient handling, and aero-medical evacuation techniques.” – Navy Cool, an official Navy website.
Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Christopher Jones, from Rancho Cucamonga, California, had worked for several years as a medical technician in the civilian sector in spinal-cord-injury units and in emergency departments. He graduated from San Diego State University in 2015 with a degree in neuroscience. His goal is to become a physician’s assistant, a credential that requires a Master’s degree and a one-year clinical rotation. When he heard about the Navy’s search and rescue medical technician training, he signed up. “It’s a six-year enlistment for those who go street to fleet,” he said. Jones noted that the scope is broader than what he was allowed to do as an emergency medical technician in the civilian world. “A lot of us hold the emergency medical technician certification and are working towards paramedic certification,” Jones said. He sees his stint as a search and rescue corpsman as valuable experience that will give him an edge when he applies for PA school.
Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Griffith Logan from Palm Beach, Florida, was assigned to Naval Air Station Fallon, Nevada, and participated as a survivor in several search and rescue exercises. He said he liked what he saw, submitted a package and was accepted into the program. He’s been in the Navy for five years and has been a search and rescue medical tech for the past two years. He says it’s a great Navy rating and noted that most corpsmen “don’t get to ride in a helicopter almost every day.” When asked about his career going forward, he notes the financial incentives to pursue his career in the civilian sector.
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Peter Kieffer, Jr., from Tampa, Florida, was in the field as hospital corpsman at Camp Lejeune. After five years of service, he was considering getting out of the Navy. “My LPO (leading petty officer) suggested the search and rescue specialty. We saw that I could get the paramedic credential and that it would be a good career move. I put in the package and two years later, here I am.
“It’s definitely a different type of medicine,” Kieffer said. “In other parts of the Navy, people are specialized, cardiovascular techs, surg techs, etc.; but SMTs are jacks of all trades. You’re working extremely independently and separated from hospital care.” Kieffer reenlisted in April, which will put him at nine years. “I’ll have to reevaluate at that point,” he said.
Jones, Logan and Kieffer, assigned to VX-31, train continuously and keep their medical skills current through routine shifts at Branch Health Clinic China Lake, which medically supports the personnel and family members aboard the Naval Air Weapons Station. Branch Health Clinic China Lake is a branch health clinic of Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms.
If you are a civilian considering a Navy career, please visit Navy.com. If you are a hospital corpsman or an active-duty Navy service member interested in the hospital corpsman search and rescue specialty, please schedule an appointment with your command career counselor.

-30-
Cutline: L-R: Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Griffith Logan, Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Peter Kieffer, Jr. and Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Christopher Jones in front of their MH-60S Medevac Blackhawk helicopter on the deck at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in Ridgecrest, California.

Story and photo by Dave Marks, Naval Hospital Twentynine Palms PAO. Released.

• Date Taken: 08.19.2021
• Date Posted: 08.19.2021 16:39
• Story ID: 403551
• Location: RIDGECREST, CA, US