APRIL 14, 2023 – 1st Marine Division Navy corpsmen completed the annual Corpsman Cup to practice and refine their critical capabilities in a realistic training environment on 30 March, in Camp Pendleton, CA.
The Corpsman Cup is a long-standing tradition within the 1st Marine Division, in which this year’s event was modified to honor the 78th anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima and Medal of Honor recipient, Hospital Corpsman (HM) 2nd Class George E. Whalen. HM2 Class Whalen landed on Iwo Jima with Marines from the 5th Marine Division and, while painfully wounded from the fighting, fought to remain on the battlefield and aid those Marines in need, despite constant fire aimed in his direction.
For decades, corpsmen from not only the Blue Diamond, but the entire Marine Corps embodied that same fighting spirit and determination to take care of the Marines they are attached to, without regard for their own welfare.
“The Corpsman Cup was created in 2011 and corpsmen from different battalions across the 1st Marine Division come to compete. This significance of this year’s competition is that it is the first one that has happened in seven years, due to operational commitments and the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated HMC Robert M. Park, Leading Chief Petty Officer, 1st Marine Division, Navy Education and Training Office. “The team that wins the competition takes the Corpsman Cup home to their unit and keep it until the following Corpsman Cup. The winning team also adds their own tradition onto the trophy by placing a plaque with their unit logo and names of the corpsmen who were a part of the winning team.”
This year’s competition consisted of five stations over a three-mile course, in which each station had various tasks relating to the capabilities organic to Navy corpsmen and to simulate the mental and physical fatigue of combat. The stations consisted of casualty assessment, venipuncture, trivia, 78 burpees, and 78 tire flips.
The first station, casualty assessment, consisted of teams executing treatment on a casualty, applying a tourniquet correctly, and then fireman carrying the patient back to a safe location. If a tourniquet did not stop the bleeding, it would result in a one-minute time penalty for that team. Upon successful completion of the casualty assessment, the teams moved onto the venipuncture station, in which three members of the team had to conduct three successful consecutive “flash and flush” venipunctures with an approved IV catheter.
Every unsuccessful attempt would result in a 30-second time penalty. The third station tested the corpsmen’s mental abilities while under stress and fatigue through trivia questions, with every incorrect answer resulting in a 15-second time penalty. The teams advanced to the fourth station, executing 78 burpees for the 78th memorial of HM2 Whalen’s sacrifice. Moving onto the final station, each team executed 78 tire flips before running back to the first station to stop their time.
Following the main event, a few camaraderie events took place where teams had the opportunity to shave off time from their scores from the main event, if they won. These events included tug-of-war, the obstacle course, and a track relay race.
In what became a very close competition, the corpsmen of 11th Marine Regiment prevailed as the top team within the 1st Marine Division. However, every battalion and regiment should rest easy knowing their corpsmen put out the max effort and are more than capable of executing their abilities when the time comes.
1st Marine Division Marines and Sailors must always be ready to go to battle, fight, and win at a moment’s notice. The Corpsman Cup is one of many events that take place across the 1st Marine Division to enhance and ensure combat readiness of its Marines and Sailors.
In recognition of always being ready and going above and beyond what is expected of them, 1st Marine Division’s own HM2 Kasey Hales, who is one of the instructors at the Navy Education and Training Office and at the Corpsman Cup, was the recipient of the I MEF Junior Sailor of the Year award. The Sailor of the Year awards are earned by Sailors who exemplify Navy core values by performing above and beyond what is expected of them in service and rank.
Story by 1st Lt. Noah Richardson
1st Marine Division