1905-13 Pre-WW1 White USN U.S. Navy PO1 Rate — Pharmacist’s Mate — Red Chevrons

Description

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Pre-WW1 white Pharmacist’s Mate First Class rate with red chevrons. White rates with red chevrons were used only between 1905 and 1913.
See photos for condition. Photos taken without flash.
Chevrons are sewn on. Stored in a smoke-free location away from UV light.
History
[
edit
]
Hospital steward's service coat, U.S. Army Hospital Corps, 1898
Prior to the establishment of the hospital corps, enlisted medical support in the U.S. Navy was limited in scope. In the
Continental Navy
and the early U.S. Navy, medical assistants were assigned at random out of the ship's company. Their primary duties were to keep the irons hot and buckets of sand at the ready for the operating area. It was commonplace during battle for the surgeons to conduct amputations and irons were used to close lacerations and wounds. Sand was used to keep the surgeon from slipping on the bloody ship deck. Previously, corpsmen were commonly referred to as
loblolly boys
, a term borrowed from the
Royal Navy
, and a reference to the daily ration of porridge fed to the sick. The nickname was in common use for so many years that it was finally officially recognized by the Navy Regulations of 1814. In coming decades, the title of the enlisted medical assistant would change several times—from loblolly boy, to nurse (1861), and finally to bayman (1876). A senior enlisted medical rating, surgeon's steward, was introduced in 1841 and remained through the
civil war
. Following the war, the title surgeon's steward was abolished in favor of
apothecary
, a position requiring completion of a course in pharmacy.
A hospital corpsman draws blood from a patient as part of his duties as an independent duty corpsman
A corpsman takes a patient's temperature in 2006
Still, there existed pressure to reform the enlisted component of the Navy's medical department—medicine as a science was advancing rapidly, foreign navies had begun training medically skilled sailors, and the U.S. Army had established an enlisted hospital corps in 1887. Navy Surgeon General J.R. Tryon and subordinate physicians lobbied the Navy administration to take action. With the
Spanish–American War
looming, Congress passed a bill authorizing establishment of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps, signed into law by President
William McKinley
on 17 June 1898. Three ratings were created therein—hospital apprentice, hospital apprentice first class (a petty officer third class), and hospital steward, which was a chief petty officer.
A revision in 1916 established a new rate structure. With the introduction of a second junior rate there were now hospital apprentice second class (HA2c) and hospital apprentice first class (HA1c). The rating title for petty officers was established as pharmacist's mate (PhM), following the pattern of some of the Navy's other ratings (boatswain's mate, gunner's mate, etc.). Pharmacist's mate third class (PhM3c), second class (PhM2c), and first class (PhM1c) were now the petty officers, and chief pharmacist's mate (CPhM) was the chief petty officer. This structure remained in place until 1947.
A total of 684 personal awards were awarded to hospital corpsmen, including 23
Medals of Honor
, 55
Navy Crosses
, and 237
Silver Stars
. During
World War I
, hospital corpsmen served throughout the fleet, earning particular distinction on the
Western Front
with the Marine Corps.
In the
United States Navy in World War II
, hospital corpsmen assigned to Marine units made beach assaults with the marines in every battle in the Pacific. Corpsmen also served on thousands of ships and submarines.
[3]
Three unassisted emergency appendectomies were performed by hospital corpsmen serving undersea and beyond hope of medical evacuation. The hospital corps has the distinction of being the only corps in the U.S. Navy to be commended, in a famous speech by Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal after the conclusion of the war.
[4]
A
Fleet Marine Force
corpsman treats a patient at the
Battle of Naktong Bulge
in Korea, in 1950
Following the war, the hospital corps changed its rating title to the generic term it had used all along—hospital corpsman. The rates of hospital corpsman third class (HM3), second class (HM2), and first class (HM1), and chief hospital corpsman (HMC) were supplemented by senior chief hospital corpsman (HMCS) and master chief hospital corpsman (HMCM) in 1958.
Hospital corpsmen continued to serve at sea and ashore, and accompanied marines and Marine units into battle during the
Korean
and
Vietnam
wars. Fifteen hospital corpsmen were counted among the dead following the
bombing of the Marine barracks
in Beirut in 1983. Hospital corpsmen also served in the
Iraq
and
Afghanistan wars
providing corpsmen for convoys, patrols, and hospital or clinic treatment.
Whether they are assigned to hospital ships,
reservist
installations,
recruiter
offices, or Marine Corps combat units, the rating of hospital corpsman is the most decorated in the United States Navy and the most decorated job in the U.S. military, with 22 Medals of Honor, 179 Navy Crosses since World War I, 31
Navy Distinguished Service Medals
, 959 Silver Stars, and more than 1,600
Bronze Star Medal
's with combat V's for heroism, since World War II (As of 2016).
[5]
Twenty naval ships have been named after hospital corpsmen. Prior to selection to the
command master chief
program, the 11th
MCPON
,
Joe R. Campa
, was a hospital corpsman.
On 29 September 2016, the Secretary of the Navy
Ray Mabus
terminated the corpsman rating along with all other U.S. Navy enlisted ratings. However, in late December 2016, the usage of ratings were restored by the Navy after much backlash by many of the enlisted naval ranks.
Navy and Marine Corps training
[
edit
]
Bermuda Regiment
corporal
and U.S. Navy corpsman at USMCB
Camp Lejeune
, 1994. The corpsman is assigned to the Bermuda Regiment from her station at the
infirmary
on U.S.
NAS Bermuda
.
Bermuda Regiment medics and U.S. Navy corpsmen at Camp Lejeune in May 2011.
As of April 2011, training to become a hospital corpsman began at Basic Medical Technician Corpsman Program (BMTCP) located at Joint Base Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
Because of the need for hospital corpsmen in a vast array of foreign, domestic, and shipboard duty stations, as well as with United States Marine Corps units, the hospital corps is the largest occupational rating (Navy Enlisted Classification-HM) in the United States Navy, with about 25,000 members active duty and reserve.
[
clarification needed
]
The basic training for hospital corpsmen is conducted at the
Medical Education and Training Campus
, located in Texas at a joint military base. Originally one of the Navy's "A" schools (primary rating training). Upon graduation, the hospital corpsman is given the
Navy Enlisted Classification
(NEC) code of HM-0000, or "quad-zero" in common usage. Students go through a 14-week course that provides in-depth and extensive training into the application of emergency medical techniques, disease and pathologies, and nursing techniques.
NECs are not as analogous to
MOS
in the United States Army and Marine Corps, or
AFSC
in the Air Force as the rating in the Navy. There are primary NECs, and secondary NECs. For example, a hospital corpsman who completes Field Medical Training Battalion (FMTB) and earns the NEC HM-8404, moves that NEC to primary and has a secondary NEC of HM-0000. If that hospital corpsman attends a "C" School, then the NEC earned at the "C" School becomes their primary and HM-8404 becomes the secondary. Some hospital corpsmen go on to receive more specialized training in roles such as
medical laboratory technician
,
optometry technician
,
radiology technician
, aerospace medicine specialist,
pharmacy technician
,
operating room technician
, etc. This advanced education is done through "C" schools, which confer 39 additional NECs. Additionally, hospital corpsmen (E-5 and above) may attend independent duty corpsman training, qualifying for independent duty in surface ships and submarines, with diving teams, and Fleet Marine Force Recon teams, as well as at remote shore installations. In addition to advanced medical training, these hospital corpsmen receive qualification in sanitation and public health.
Of note is the Field Medical Training Battalion (FMTB), with locations at
Camp Del Mar
and
Camp Johnson
, where sailors bound for service with USMC operating forces earn the NEC HM-8404, Field Medical Service Technician. FMTB provides specialized training in advanced emergency medicine and the fundamentals of Marine Corps life, while emphasizing physical conditioning, small arms familiarity, and basic battlefield tactics. As of 2010, this rigorous training is 8 weeks. Training for the
Fleet Marine Force
(FMF) familiarizes navy corpsmen with the Marines. A bond and mutual respect is often formed between Marines and their assigned hospital corpsmen, earning respect apart from their Navy shipmates. FMF hospital corpsmen are issued the Marine Corps service uniforms and camouflage uniforms (MARPAT) while assigned to the Marine Corps and also have the option to go Marine Corps Regulations. They are then issued a new seabag containing the
Marine uniforms
(except dress blues) with uniform matching Navy rate chevrons instead of the Marine rank chevrons, and collar rank insignias, and wear those instead of traditional Navy uniforms. The Navy's new
digitized camouflage working uniform
are worn by sailors stationed at other naval facilities.
Hospital corpsmen can further specialize; they may undergo further training to become
Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsmen
, or
SARC
. They are usually found in both the
FMF Recon
,
Marine Division Recon
and
MARSOC
units. They are trained and skilled in combat, including combatant swimming, opened/closed circuit
scuba diving
, military
free-fall
and amphibious operations. They act as advisers regarding health and injury prevention, and treat illnesses from
decompression sickness
as well as other conditions requiring
hyperbaric
treatment.
Two hospital corpsmen assigned to the
1st Battalion, 5th Marines
, treat a Marine wounded in
Afghanistan
in 2009. The corpsman on the right would later be awarded the Bronze Star Medal with
Combat "V"
.
Hospital corpsmen who have received the warfare designator of
enlisted fleet marine force warfare specialist
are highly trained members of the Hospital Corps who specialize in all aspects of working with the United States Marine Corps operating forces. Attainment of this designation is highly prized among all corpsmen. The enlisted fleet marine force warfare designation for hospital corpsmen is the only U.S. Navy warfare device awarded solely by a U.S. Marine Corps general officer. This awarding authority cannot be delegated to U.S. Navy officers. However, obtaining the title of "FMF" is a rigorous procedure and not every hospital corpsman who has been with a Marine Corps unit will wear the FMF warfare device. U.S. Navy officers in the medical community (Medical Corps (doctor), Nurse Corps, Dental Corps, Medical Service Corps) can earn and wear the officer equivalent to this insignia. Additionally any sailor attached to a USMC unit can earn and wear an FMF warfare device. (e.g., administrative rates such as logistic specialists) provided they complete all the qualifications for the FMF warfare specialist.
The first
physician assistants
were selected from Navy corpsmen who had combat experience in Vietnam. They made up members of the first PA class at Duke University.
[6]
The Navy trained its own physician assistants drawing from the ranks of qualified petty officer second class corpsman, as well as independent duty hospital corpsmen at the Naval School of Health Sciences in Portsmouth, VA until 1985, then at San Diego, CA and current the Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) with a university affiliation of the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). It is conducted in two phases the first phase at the Graduate School and Academy of Health Sciences at AMEDDC&S, Ft. Sam Houston, TX and the second phase at various medical facilities and specialties. When training completed they become officers in the Medical Service Corps (MSC). Former Navy hospital corpsmen are also represented in many medical disciplines, as physicians, nurses, medical administrators and other walks of life. After completing their training, a physician assistant is promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade (O-2). Previously after g