FORT HOOD, Texas—Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center celebrated the Army Medical Department Enlisted Corps’ 131st Anniversary March 1 to honor the enlisted Soldiers who have served in battlefields and hospitals and clinics around the globe since 1887.
Although the AMEDD Enlisted Corps was not officially established until 1887, Congress had authorized the employment of "hospital stewards" to serve in hospitals during the Revolutionary War. Throughout history, the role of hospital stewards rapidly expanded as the medical noncommissioned officers were expected to provide medical services, plus handle administrative and logistical functions in the field and in garrison.
“Hospital stewards were known for being honest and above reproach. Their duties included patient care, personnel management, food service, medical supply and overall administration of running a hospital,” said Sgt. Maj. Edward Ellis-Kelsey, III Corps Surgeon’s office, in his keynote address at the ceremony. “While our duties may have changed to a degree, the tenets of our responsibilities remain the same. We are all servants--servants to our warfighting community, to our beneficiaries, to our nation and to one another.”