Navy Hospital Corpsman Jobs

What is a Navy Hospital Corpsman?  A Navy Hospital Corpsman provides medical and dental treatment to their fellow Sailors and Marines worldwide.

Whether serving in combat roles with the Fleet Marine Forces or providing immunizations to dependents at a Naval Hospital, Navy Hospital Corpsman strives to meet all the medical needs of the Navy and Marine Corps.

Navy Hospital Corpsman have a long and proud history of service to our fleet forces, dating back to their inception during the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Since then, “Doc” has been saving lives worldwide to support American military operations, playing one of the most important roles in the U.S. Armed Forces.

How to Become a Navy Corpsman

Like all military hopefuls, potential Corpsman must complete the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB.

The ASVAB is designed to assess your competency in approximately 10 different areas to determine the Navy jobs for which you are best suited.

To qualify for the Navy Hospital Corpsman rating or HM, a candidate must have a combined score of 209 in:

• Verbal (VE)
• Word Knowledge (WK)
• Paragraph Comprehension (PC)
• Mathematics Knowledge (MK)
• General Science (GS).

The HM rating is a five-year enlistment commitment due to the extended training requirements for the job.

Navy Hospital Corpsman Training and Qualifications

Training for every Navy Hospital Corpsman begins with Navy Basic Recruit Training, or “Boot Camp”, at Navy Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois.

Following Basic Recruit Training, all Corpsman will attend Hospital Corpsman A School at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

Navy Hospital Corpsman faces a 14-week training cycle in A School that will develop a basic level of understanding in patient care, first aid, and disaster response.

From there, Navy Corpsman can be assigned anywhere in the world, at a Naval Medical Shore Facility, a Navy Ship, or an operational Fleet Marine Force unit.

There are 38 specialized Navy Enlisted Codes (NEC) for Hospital Corpsman. Some of the most sought-after are:

 Search and Rescue (SMT) – Support Search and Rescue Operations

• Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) – Support Deployed Marine Corps. Units in Combat Zones
• Independent Duty Corpsman (IDC) – Serves as the lone medical professional in an operational unit
• Special Amphibious Reconnaissance Corpsman (SARC) – Supports Special Operations Units for the Navy and Marine Corps.
• Preventative Medicine
• Radiology
• Dental Assistant

Specialized training is widely available to Navy Hospital Corpsman and prepares them for success during and after their time in the Navy.

What Do Navy Corpsman Do?

There are no medics in the Marine Corps, and they rely on the Navy to provide administrative, ship transport, and medical care for their Marines.

Thus, corpsmen are trained for the battlefield as Fleet Marine Force (FMF) corpsmen.

Typically, a corpsman will hear the term “Green side.” This is about FMF corpsmen working in tandem with Marines, whereas “Blue side” corpsmen generally work in hospitals, clinics, or on ships.

While Green Side Corpsman duties are often sought after, Blue Side Corpsman receive valuable training for their post-Navy career.

Preventive Medicine Technicians (PMT) are corpsmen who assist Medical Department officers in performing Preventive Medicine and Occupational Health Programs for the Navy and Marine Corps on and offshore.

They inspect food service, berthing, childcare, recreational facilities, potable water, and waste systems. PMTs conduct bacteriological analysis on various food and water samples and investigate epidemiological sightings.

Additionally, PMTs counsel patients on infectious diseases and administer mass immunization programs.

Independent Duty Corpsmen (IDC) represent the Medical Department aboard surface ships, with FMF units and in isolated duty stations, independent of medical officers.

They act as the doctors, nurses, and medical staff. IDC Corpsmen undergo a vigorous training process that is considered one of the most competitive specialty schools in the entire Navy.

Dental Assistants (DA) perform general assistant duties such as dental infection control, management of the dental treatment room, preventive dentistry, assistance in comprehensive dental work, and intraoral radiology.

Dental Assistant Corpsman often leave the Navy with a degree and certification in dental assisting in the civilian world.

One Team, One Fight

Navy Hospital Corpsman serve in vital positions worldwide, supporting operations at home and abroad.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in the medical field and the reward and pride of being a Navy Corpsman sounds like you, contact your local Navy recruiter to find out how to get started.

“Charlie Mike: Rendering Assistance” – Current Navy Medicine Motto