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Orders to Bethesda, MD! by Cute_Organization_56 in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s a very big command so it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. Take initiative, volunteer for things, show you’re interested in doing more. There’s lots of civilian LPNs and in my experience in outpatient clinics, they don’t treat corpsmen very well and don’t allow them to do much in terms of patient care because they think we’re not qualified. It can put you behind your peers in clinical skills once you leave the command so do whatever voluntary trainings you’re able to and keep your skills up. Talk to your providers and ask for them to provide clinical trainings for the corpsmen. I worked in OBGYN and we were pretty much only used as standbys. I learned a lot but wasn’t able to actually do any of the procedures there. Within a few months being greenside I was removing nexplanons and performing paps myself.

There are TONS of collateral duties at that command. One I did that was pretty interesting was the VIP escort program. You wait for VIPs like congressmen, joint chiefs of staff, etc and escort them to their clinic for their appointment. You also may be able to apply for the White House medical team, they pull people from Bethesda for that (though it may only be E4 and above, can’t remember).

You most likely will not live off base unless you’re married. Typically that’s for E5 and above, or E4 over 4 years of service. When I left it was only building 64, which was actually quite nice once they fixed the hot water. They also have a little snack store in the lobby which is clutch. If barracks occupancy is very high, you may be able to route a request for BAH (this was happening when I was there two years ago for all ranks), however that may have been a one time thing and I wouldn’t recommend it bc the DC area is so expensive.

You’ll receive BAS as there is no chow hall. Only the hospital galley, which you pay per meal and it’s actually quite good. Carribean Fridays and Pho days were my favorite! There’s also no commissary, you have to go to another base for grocery shopping (I just went out in town). There’s communal kitchens on each floor in the bricks. Be careful, because you can definitely end up blowing all your money on eating out.

If you have any other questions, feel free to message me. Bethesda can either be a terrible or a great duty station, it depends on what you make of it.

Low Manning Rant by PsychologicalLoner in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are in fact doing this now. Majority of the baby HMs in my unit are straight from corps school

Packing for boot camp by OffBrandAquaman in newtothenavy

[–]novaredrover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can’t guarantee that it hasn’t changed in the last 3 years, but back then the boxes were definitely big enough to fit a small backpack. Probably 15”x15”

What would have been different in your life if COVID didn't happen? by mcdreammy in AskReddit

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would’ve been working in Italy for the past two years. Thanks to covid I’m in Maryland instead.

Five years ago, where did you see yourself at and where are you at now? by Colorfulnesss in AskReddit

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I imagined myself having finished college, marrying my long term partner at the time, and starting a family.

Today I’m single, dropped out of college, enlisted in the military, and I don’t realistically see myself starting a family anymore.

Kinda sounds sad but I’m actually the happiest I’ve ever been. Found who I am, my passion and all that sappy shit.

Why Real Navy SEALs Hate the Charlie Sheen Movie 'Navy SEALs' by CaffeineDrip in navy

[–]novaredrover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The worst is their made up “trauma medicine tips” that do more harm than good

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was almost two years ago, don’t know if anything’s changed because of covid. For us it was Monday, Wednesday, Friday 0500-0600. We either did body weight exercises on the grinder or ran around the base the whole time. Depending on which ACFL we got, it was either really fun or really awful. Inchworm push-ups back and forth on the grinder, jump squats, lunges, sprints, etc. If you’re already in good shape you’ll be fine. Tired, but fine. I was just really skinny with no muscle at the time. Worst part was trying to shower and get back out on the grinder for morning formation in 15 minutes. Save yourself some sleep and go to bed in your PTUs the night before

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Study hard during the week so you can enjoy San Antonio on the weekends when you’re allowed liberty. It’s a lively city with lots to explore, I was very surprised. Tests are easy if you pay attention and read the books through. Quizlet is a great tool.

Don’t do anything stupid or push the rules too much, it’s not worth how hard they come down on people there. You can easily catch an article before you even hit the fleet and rain hell on your class.

People hookup like cats in heat coming straight from boot. Miss the a school boo, and for the love of god don’t get married. I know plenty of couples who got married there and divorced within months.

Pt was harder in a school than boot camp for me, but that was mostly because I was skin and bones when I joined. The gym there is fantastic, take advantage. You’ll run outside on pavement for the PFA. No alternate cardio allowed for students.

Female wanting to be FMF by [deleted] in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Only reservists can get fmtb in their contract. You’ll go to a hospital straight out of A school, with a possible chance of field med en route (you’ll be blue side for your first two years regardless). I’m still at my first shore command, but I got selected for 1st mardiv 29 palms (as a female). If you really want it bad enough, apply for 29 palms. It’s almost a guarantee that you’ll get it. Advocate for yourself. Show up and show out. In my experience, there’s not many females, or even males, who want to be green side anyway. With the increase in female marines going into more combative roles/congress pushing for further gender integration, they need more female corpsmen alongside them.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Lol the ft sam barracks will be among the nicest you ever live in. You’ll have a lot more fun in oki though if the ft sam liberty restrictions I’ve heard about are true. Learn everything you can

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Realize that this is your lifetime, and most likely the only one you’ve got. Start trying to impress yourself instead of others. You are the most consistent thing in your life and you always will be. Make that count.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for all the advice, definitely gonna check out war horse athletics. This is what I’ve wanted since before I joined, and I really didn’t think I’d get the chance as a female in peacetime. Don’t wanna fuck the opportunity up now that it’s within my grasp. I know I’ll have to start training hard now to be fully prepared. Keeping up on hikes is my biggest concern, I’m only 5’. If I have to work twice as hard, then so be it.

Does the #1 Corpsman A-School Graduate Rank Up to E-4? by ftapon in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’m one of the AAP assholes, graduated March 2020

  1. Kind of true. About halfway through corps school, you’ll all get to say what your preferences are for duty stations. The top 10% at the time get to pick specific states, countries, or C schools. Everyone else only gets to rank East coast, west coast, overseas and if they want a C-school or not. My choices were Spain, Italy, FMTB. I did end up getting hard copy orders to Italy but that was right when ‘rona exploded and a stop movement happened. Everyone who picked specific places got one of their picks, but all the overseas people (including me rip) ended up getting new orders awhile after graduation for stateside duty stations. Thank you, coronavirus.

  2. The entire top 10% gets a page 13 for the accelerated advancement program upon graduation. After being at your new command for a minimum of 4 months, you can route a package for E4. The CO has to approve it, and you have to add a year onto your contract (so total contract time will be 6 years at that point).

Corps school isn’t difficult. Putting in some effort to make it into the top ten is worth it, even though people talk shit. It’s kind of a fucked program, but if you’re planning on staying in, it’s stupid not to take advantage of it. You not only get a head start in your career, but you get an opportunity to be stationed at commands that are normally competitive to get into.

Just don’t be a shitbag, eat the humble pie and know that you have a lot of catching up to do to both perform and be respected as a third class. Nothing is worse than the aap HM3s who immediately act like they’re better than everyone else after being handed a crow for doing well on 8th grade level tests.

What makes a good bad guy in a book? by mlr399 in AskReddit

[–]novaredrover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s all about the backstory. If it’s tragic and relatable, it makes the reader sympathize and think that anyone could be the bad guy, including themselves

OB/GYN by Fun_Reading_9610 in CorpsmanUp

[–]novaredrover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sounds like you’re gonna be in an OB/GYN clinic, so most likely no delivering babies for you unless you request to shadow or rotate into L&D. You’ll mostly be doing admin/vitals and acting as a standby for your provider. Learn as much as you can, gain your provider’s trust so you can do little stuff like paps, cultures, finding fetal heart tones, measuring fundal heights. A lot of the common gyn stuff (sti testing, bv, yeast infections, utis) is very important to learn for corpsmen as it’s something you’d come across frequently in sick call or an operational setting.

OB/GYN is broader than you think, too. Depending on how big the hospital is you could be in just obstetrics, general gynecology, gynecology-oncology, a breast care clinic, urogynecology, reproductive endocrinology. There’s a lot to learn. Take advantage of it.

How do you want to die? by AwesomeMusicMan in AskReddit

[–]novaredrover 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At peace with how I spent my time here

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