Dereck Rickman
Professor, L. Baker English 103
29 January 2015
Critical Thinking: In the mind of a Hospital Corpsman
Bullets from enemies’ gun fire buzzing around me. The distant yell for,“Doc!” echoing in my ears as I’m laying behind a bunch of rumble returning gun fire. That distant yell no Hospital Corpsman wants to hear. I get up and run as fast as my legs can carry me to the downed Marine who needs me, and needs my medical attention. I jump over pot holes where once laid IED’s (Improvised explosive devices) and parts and pieces of my comrades who had lost their lives. I continue to the yells and find the Marine trying to crawl to cover, I get to him pulling him behind a cement wall providing cover for him as I tend to his wounds. I struggle getting to my medical gear as I fumble through it, making sure all wounds are addressed as needed. I begin by tying off an improvised tourniquet, which will slow the bleeding, to his right leg and covered which once was a leg now a nub with a battle dressing. As I am muti-tasking marking the Marine with a “T” on his forehead with his own blood and making sure his pain is at a reasonable threshold by administrating Morphine. I yell, “Staff Sergeant start setting up an LZ (landing zone) for an air medevac (wounded personnel being evacuated from a battlefield seeking medical attention) for this Marine.” As the rest of the Marines continue to provide security for this wounded Marine and as I continue addressing his medical situation which now has gone from bad to worse as he now goes in and out of consciousness, I continue to talk to him trying my best to keep him awake. I continue to instruct Staff sergeant to call in a 9-line, which is certain criteria needed for pick up by helicopter and certain equipment needed to treat injuries. Staff sergeant ricks pops smoke to identify the LZ and I get the wounded Marine