Sailors complete final test to become FMSTs

Photo By Sgt. Joshua Young | Navy corpsmen in training hike to their next training area during a Field Medical Battalion final training exercise in Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 20.  

CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

09.24.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Joshua Young 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Navy corpsmen from Field Medical Training Battalion are currently wrapping up an eight-week training exercise to become field medical service technicians at Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 20.

Once these corpsmen get to the fleet they will have earned the right to be part of the Marine Corps combat team and will serve with Marine units here and abroad.

“We are putting it all together and making sure that we’re ready to make it to the fleet to work with the Marines and make sure we can do our job,” said Navy Seaman Joshua Soriano, an 18-year-old student from Deer Lodge, Mont. “I feel like we’re all ready, and everything will come to you when you are out there eventually.”

The eight-week training FMTB course teaches students teamwork, leadership skills, casualty carries, and how to push themselves beyond what they believe they can do.

“It really makes you realize who you are as a person,” Soriano said. “You realize your limits, and that you can get past them.”

Navy corpsmen deploy with Marines on the frontlines and are trained to cope with the fog of war and get the job done under extreme pressure.

“I’ve seen some pretty amazing things that corpsmen do out there in person,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Anthony Buegel, a 30-year-old from Chicago. “What these corpsmen go through and what they learn definitely prepares them for future events.”

The students train with Navy corpsmen and Marine Corps instructors; this helps them learn the traditions and value of being part of the Marine Corps team.

“It’s really important to let people know what it’s like operating with Marines before they work with them,” Soriano said. “Marines are a lot different than sailors.”

Some of these students will serve in Afghanistan and will see combat operations. The instructors do their best to prepare them for anything they might face.

“I think the instructors do the training very well,” said Buegel, who has served in Afghanistan and Iraq. “They are getting exactly what they need for future operations in Afghanistan and peacetime operations as well.”

• Date Taken: 09.24.2011
• Date Posted: 09.24.2011 13:34
• Story ID: 77531
• Location: CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US