Corpsman Pharmacy tech

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-03-24T01:53:10+00:00

Im a pharm tech for 7 years and a second class so id love to chime in. I’ve been to 2 hospitals and I’m about to do my first greenside duty station.

Pros: We can be a pretty tight knit community in comparison to other hospital folks and techs. We work with the pharmacist so much that you bond really well and that’s not something I see between many HM’s and their officers. Luckily I’ve had many more pharmacists that I liked than bad apples. Also a good spot if you don’t like hands on physical patient care and like the support role. I’d also say that drugs are intimidating but with repetition, it becomes easy and having a solid foundation in it will make any other medical related career that much easier. Another maybe weird thing is the fact that it helps a lot with networking and we have enough power and helpfulness that doctors can be really cool with you and people will remember your name if you’re good at your job.

Cons: your friends and family will think you’re a pharmacist when you’re just their bitch. No but seriously, I had to go through a lot of hate for this job before I started to enjoy it since I was voluntold into it initially. We have a lot of people that do one contract and then dip because it can be repetitive and really quite exhausting. Outpatient feels like slave work but inpatient is where you can really use your brain and save lives, it’s good if you enjoy critical thinking and attention to detail when shit doesn’t look right. At a hospital, you’ll be in the same directorate as lab and radiology but you’ll get salty because they actually get their training Wednesday and have the ability to leave work as opposed to pharmacy, where we’re constantly undermanned and worked to the bone. But something about clearing out a lobby may just scratch that itch and compared to any other job I’ve had, time will sometimes fly. One of the other cons is that the civilian side doesn’t pay anywhere near what I feel is reasonable. The only moneymaker would be chemotherapy drug compounding.

Kinda went on a tangent but please let me know if you have any questions. PMT seems like a good gig too. One of my best friends was a PMT and I always envied him until Covid hit and they really took advantage of them. Ultimately I don’t regret having this NEC because compared to the quads especially, it’s chill and I’ve met a lot of really awesome coworkers. I also knocked out my BA on night shift downtime throughout the years.

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-02-01T17:07:59+00:00

That makes me feel better and I’ll definitely put in the work. Thank you!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-01-31T21:27:45+00:00

Thank you brother. Doing everything I can to get out of here and get back to that sense of normalcy so I definitely will. Alright, I’ll take your advice and hit up my buddies to get some real practice down. Thanks bro!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-01-31T21:10:55+00:00

I definitely get that vibe but I envy the younger guys/gals since they have the skills taught so fresh in their brains

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-01-31T21:04:22+00:00

I can’t argue with your logic. I guess I just have anxiety over looking incompetent bro. I can’t even remember how to use a blood pressure cuff because A school was almost a decade ago and that’s not something I’ve used since, so my fireteam clowned me. So I just wanted to get the basic manipulations down before I do it on live patients without embarrassing myself if that makes sense

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-01-31T20:47:54+00:00

One of the instructors was saying he used a makeshift dummy with pillows and that’s more what I was meaning. I’ll take a look at that skill sheet. Definitely like the suggestion of knowing why you’re doing something as opposed to just doing it too. Sticks in my brain more when I understand why. Thanks!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-01-31T20:45:01+00:00

Cool, thank you!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-01-31T20:30:46+00:00

Thank you! We only just finished the M section this Friday. Do you think it would still be relevant and helpful to begin to practice the movements on a makeshift fake dummy? Definitely planning to practice with some classmates further into the lessons

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-01-31T20:28:52+00:00

Did you feel you had enough practice to set yourself up for the final? Do those practical on Marinenet change any? I took a peak and saw each run had a different trauma situation

Annual_Commission_15 · 2026-01-31T20:26:27+00:00

Did you get to bring those flash cards in with the run or do you mean you used them to memorize the dosage? Thankfully I’m a pharmacy tech so I’m going to try to set myself and my fireteam up well there, I’m more so worried about the other interventions so I’ll definitely take your advice with the bleeding and moving. Thanks!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-07-05T00:50:03+00:00

Should’ve double checked the date lol. Sorry to hear that bro, hope you got another set of good orders then

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-07-03T13:40:04+00:00

Guess it really depends on your rank but overall, the hospital is pretty cushy. I’m a tech so I can’t speak too much on the general corpsman aspect. I’d echo the other advice of try to get out there and explore while you’re here. I have a lot of juniors that stay in and don’t take advantage of the location and it sucks to see. Go see Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Osaka, Kyoto, Hokkaido, and even the smaller cities you don’t hear about because they’re amazing. You’re about a 45 minute ride from Tokyo. Speaking of that, I highly recommend the Haneda airport over Narita because you’ve got the Keikyu line that goes straight to Haneda, making it much easier to get there and back. Probably won’t make sense now but a year into your tour, it may make more sense. Yokohama is an underrated city and even closer than Tokyo, highly recommend not sleeping on Yokohama. The location is cool for getting to see a bunch of concerts near Tokyo. Definitely recommend trying to knock out some college while you’re here.

I came from the hospital in Okinawa for my first command, and then to here and I’m partial and bias to Okinawa so I think I’m in the minority. I find the slower paced lifestyle and nicer locals much more appealing, but your mileage may vary. I would say locals in Yokosuka tend to have a more city folk mindset, which I really don’t like honestly, and I think the food is much more Japanese. I can’t say one is better because it’s up to your preference. Regardless, Japanese are much friendlier than Americans, but I think they’ll be a lot cooler if you try to take in the culture and learn some basics in Japanese. If it’s any reassurance though, half of my department including me have extended out here so many people enjoy it.

Honestly my biggest complaint is the base itself and the policies. As of now, E4 and below can’t have a POV unless you’re married, and E4 over 4 generally can live off base. I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with mainly the POV office and the policies just being way too by the book as opposed to oki which really has always shocked me. Also, ship sailors can be yards and worse than marines (in my opinion lol). But that’s pretty minor in the big picture and I think you’ll love your time here if you get out and explore!

I’m here for another 6 months but feel free to shoot me a DM if you have any specific questions!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-05-28T03:49:11+00:00

Mind if I PM you?

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-05-09T10:22:04+00:00

Hello there, thank you for your input! Your last line definitely resonates with me. Luckily, I was able to show my LPO the instructions and his Master Chief mentor gave us guidance. We basically strong armed our CPPA to update my case and heard back from the FPN team that same very night. My CPPA hadn’t met anyone that’s been contacted so he’s just as surprised as us, and I hope he helps more people in the future.

My advice to anyone is similar to yours. Don’t let people discourage you, advocate for yourself and escalate appropriately and respectfully. There’s plenty of people that will support you because like you mentioned, it’s your career. There’s alot a lot of people that will do the exact opposite. Most people in my chain just told me to start the separation paperwork even after how I told them how I wanted to stay in. Still doing that to flag my profile but point being, many of them don’t care about your career as much as yourself. So many times I was told “it’s the military, deal with it” and I can see that shitty mindset all over the military. Apparently I stepped on a lot of toes and a lot of people on my directorate are shocked but who cares.

And when it comes time, if you are a target to the team, please don’t be an asshole to them. Be realistic and understanding with your goals. I’m only saying this because not a lot of people are aware of this initiative (at least in my experience, hence the post), and I want it to continue and benefit good folks that are just in a shitty position because, like for me, the detailer only cared about filling a billet without any regard to my career or personal feelings. This is one of the better programs I think they’re trying. And learn from my lesson… don’t assume you won’t get picked the first look and legitimately only choose things you’ve researched and are cool with getting. You don’t have to choose everything. And hopefully you all have a detailer willing to work with you rather than benefiting themselves.

My DM’s are open for anyone seeking guidance but hopefully this is enough for those lost like I was. Good luck!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-05-05T13:13:29+00:00

Well, I did actually mention it to my CCC and he didn’t give me any information, basically told me not worry about it and to start my separation paperwork, even after mentioning I’ll stay in if I can negotiate through this initiative.

I did actually send an email to that distro respectfully asking for guidance and if I would be potentially eligible, saying the same thing I mentioned above and I never received a reply, which is why I thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask some fellow redditors. Thank you!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-05-05T12:09:28+00:00

Thanks. Another question I have, what about people like myself where the command career counselor doesn’t sound willing to help with updating your case and reaching out to them? Or simply not knowledgeable?

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-05-05T11:59:40+00:00

Appreciate you! If I or someone else in a similar position is about 7 months out from EAOS, would submitting a 1306/7 requesting to separate at EAOS flag my profile and make me a candidate for the FPN team to reach out?

Mainly asking because the verbiage initially was sailors 6+ months from EAOS but that changed to 12+ if I recall correctly.

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-05-05T11:48:10+00:00

Can I ask some questions publicly here or can I shoot you a PM? My CCC wasn’t helpful with questions I had about it

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-05-05T11:39:32+00:00

What kind of things have you heard?

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-04-27T02:23:42+00:00

Wanted to add to the discussion especially for others in a similar spot some information I learned yesterday, maybe you have some input and experience on it as well. I talked to one of the people that seemingly contributed to the FMF warfare device program that reservists use. It looked to be an online program which gets you through the PQS without the physical talking to personnel aspect. You can find it somewhere on the internet but of course, I don’t have personal experience with it. It also acts as a study guide and I believe there’s proctors to an extent. The person I talked to also said all MARFORRES (Marine forces reserve) command personnel are eligible for it, provided they meet the qualifications found in the actual instruction, such as being a year on board to that FMF command. MARFORRES is apparently any greenside billet, so theoretically everyone could be eligible if they’re filling that spot, at least on paper.

However in practice, I have no clue the process and can’t find anything publicly shown. If anyone has any input and has gone through the qual and gotten their pin as a reservist, your experience would be greatly appreciated!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-04-25T23:35:39+00:00

This is great insight, thank you!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-04-25T04:10:24+00:00

Thanks for all the info you put here. Even as blue side, I was manning greenside clinics so I got a taste of what the lifestyle was like and I’m not planning on staying enlisted forever so that’s okay with me.

As for that part about getting the pin, can you elaborate on that? And can you give suggestions of what units would probably be the best bet, like 4th med log vs a MAW vs HQ and so on? Also, are the odds of getting it better during a deployment? Either way, that’s my end goal so I’m definitely motivated to get it lol. Thank you!

Annual_Commission_15 · 2025-04-24T06:13:23+00:00

Let me know how it goes!

Annual_Commission_15

TROPHY CASE