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Medical personnel on USNS vessels?

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Allen Thomson

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Apr 8, 2008, 9:16:26 AM4/8/08
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This is slightly esoteric, but does the medical department on a USNS
vessel like the TAGOS surveillance ships usually include an MD? Or
would they have a sub-MD medical tech and depend on evacuation for
more serious cases?

On a related note, how big does an actual warship have to be to have
an MD assigned to it?

Tiger

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Apr 8, 2008, 10:42:11 AM4/8/08
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Hmmmm, a orginal question......
Oft hand I'd say no to the doc. With limted numbers of MD's to go
arround, base facilities and warships to staff; I'd say they would come
up short.

Ray O'Hara

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Apr 8, 2008, 5:45:31 PM4/8/08
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"Tiger" <Lana_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:47FB8443...@hotmail.com...

dr lewis haynes had his medical degree before he joined the crew of the
indianapolis.
he survived the sinking


scott s.

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Apr 8, 2008, 7:56:17 PM4/8/08
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Allen Thomson <thom...@flash.net> wrote in news:aa825c36-b098-40ab-86cb-
1e3ac7...@m71g2000hse.googlegroups.com:

I don't recall seeing any commissioned medical type except on a tender
or carrier. I guess LHA or LHD might have a medical dept. that is why
they have independent duty corpsmen.

scott s.
.

Gashauler

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Apr 8, 2008, 7:01:25 PM4/8/08
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"Allen Thomson" <thom...@flash.net> wrote in message
news:aa825c36-b098-40ab...@m71g2000hse.googlegroups.com...

>
> This is slightly esoteric, but does the medical department on a USNS
> vessel like the TAGOS surveillance ships usually include an MD? Or
> would they have a sub-MD medical tech and depend on evacuation for
> more serious cases?

Now I'm going back a few years, in fact maybe alot of years, but I sailed on
a T-AK with only 6 active duty Navy persons and the only medical person
aboard was the Firstmate with first aid training. That was back in 1975 to
1978. I'm sure there hasn't been much change except for the number of
sailors aboard but still I would bet there's no doctor


Vaughn Simon

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Apr 8, 2008, 8:29:35 PM4/8/08
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"Allen Thomson" <thom...@flash.net> wrote in message
news:aa825c36-b098-40ab...@m71g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>
> On a related note, how big does an actual warship have to be to have
> an MD assigned to it?

Don't know if they still do, but each SSBN crew used to have its very own MD
in the cold war days. I believe we were the smallest Navy ship with a real MD.

Vaughn


Ogden Johnson III

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Apr 9, 2008, 12:43:40 PM4/9/08
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"scott s." <75270...@csi.xcom> wrote:

>Allen Thomson <thom...@flash.net> wrote:

>> This is slightly esoteric, but does the medical department on a USNS
>> vessel like the TAGOS surveillance ships usually include an MD? Or
>> would they have a sub-MD medical tech and depend on evacuation for
>> more serious cases?

>> On a related note, how big does an actual warship have to be to have
>> an MD assigned to it?

>I don't recall seeing any commissioned medical type except on a tender
>or carrier. I guess LHA or LHD might have a medical dept. that is why
>they have independent duty corpsmen.

LHA/LHDs have several MD billets 3-5 assigned, generally with
varied training, to handle battlefield casualties during
execution of their mission of assault support. They are
outfitted with three operating rooms, an ICU, an ~100 bed
dedicated sickbay compartment, another, backup, 200-300 bed
compartment fitted out to be used as an overflow sick bay, etc.

The LHAs I deployed on were the only Navy ships I was ever on
that had a dentist. (Oral surgery care for those battle
casualties).

There's a reason LHA/LHDs are popular for civilian disaster
relief missions - they have ample ships company medical personnel
assigned, good medical facilities, and the ability to be easily
augmented with additional doctors, corpsmen, nurse, etc.

--
OJ III

Derek Lyons

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Apr 9, 2008, 12:55:51 PM4/9/08
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"scott s." <75270...@csi.xcom> wrote:


SSBN's (of the '41 type) carried actual Doc's when they first came
about, but were replaced after a bit with Corpsmen. Tridents did the
same thing.

D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.

http://derekl1963.livejournal.com/

-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL

Derek Lyons

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Apr 9, 2008, 12:58:07 PM4/9/08
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"Vaughn Simon" <vaughnsimo...@att.FAKE.net> wrote:

Happened twice - and only briefly each time (AIUI), first in the early
60's with the deployment of the '41 boats, and again in the early 80's
with the Tridents. (The '41s certainly had them gone by the 70's, as
no one I served with in the 80's could recall ever seeing one. On the
Tridents they were gone by the late 80's.)

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