They are the few and the proud, but no, they're not Marines. They're the Navy's Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsmen.
These elite hospital corpsmen are integral members of a Marine Corps reconnaissance team. While they may look and act like Marines, they are Navy hospital corpsmen, and their primary mission is to provide advanced trauma management in a hostile environment.
"It takes a special breed of corpsman to qualify as a reconn-corpsman," said Chief Hospital Corpsman (DV/FMF/PJ) Robert B. Fitzgerald, the senior medical department representative at the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
"Reconnaissance Corpsman are a cut above the rest. We not only have to be militarily and tactically proficient, we have a stronger dedication to duty," added Fitzgerald.
The 22 senior corpsmen and 72 junior corpsmen who make up the Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman teams must undergo an arduous training program. The training includes Marine Corps Basic Reconnaissance Training, Army Basic Airborne School, Marine Corps Combatant diver school, the Navy's Amphibious corpsmen training (which teaches hyperbaric medicine) and six months of Joint Special Operations Medical training.
Once fully trained, the corpsmen become a member of a Marine Corps platoon. That platoon depends upon the corpsman's ability to think and react quickly in combat and in other critical situations.
"It's not like a normal hospital corpsman job," said HM2(DV/FMF/PJ) Steve Markham, assigned to the 1st Force Reconnaissance Company, Camp Pendleton, Calif. "We're corpsmen and we're the ones who take care of the medical needs of the platoon, but we also have duties as Marines."
As a members of the platoon, the reconn Corpsmen push themselves everyday — physically and mentally — to ensure the tip of the spear remains sharp.
"We are right in the fight along with the Marines," said Fitzgerald. "We are there to provide medical service but we are also a member of the team, maybe the point man or the radio operator. We may look and act like Marines, but we are Sailors — always," said Fitzgerald.