states marine corps operating forces. attainment of this designation is highly prized among all corpsmen. the enlisted fleet marine force warfare designation for hospital corpsmen is the only u.s. navy warfare device awarded solely by a u.s. marine corps general officer. this awarding authority cannot be delegated to u.s. navy officers. however, obtaining the title of "fmf" is a rigorous procedure and not every hospital corpsman who has been with a marine corps unit will wear the fmf warfare device. u.s. navy officers in the medical community (medical corps (doctor), nurse corps, dental corps, medical service corps) can earn and wear the officer equivalent to this insignia. additionally any sailor attached to a usmc unit can earn and wear an fmf warfare device. (e.g., administrative rates such as logistic specialists) provided they complete all the qualifications for the fmf warfare specialist. independent duty corpsman the first physician assistants were selected from navy corpsmen who had combat experience in vietnam. they made up members of the first pa class at duke university. the navy trained its own physician assistants drawing from the ranks of qualified petty officer second class corpsman, as well as independent duty hospital corpsmen at the naval school of health sciences in portsmouth, va until 1985, then at san diego, ca and current the interservice physician assistant program (ipap) with a university affiliation of the university of nebraska medical center (unmc). it is conducted in two phases the first phase at the graduate school and academy of health sciences at ameddc&s, ft. sam houston, tx and the second phase at various medical facilities and specialties. when training completed they become officers in the medical service corps (msc). former navy hospital corpsmen are also represented in many medical disciplines, as physicians, nurses, medical administrators and other walks of life. after completing their training, a physician assistant is promoted to the rank of lieutenant junior grade (o-2). previously after graduating from civilian pa school, they had only been given the rank of warrant officer 2 (cwo2). rate/rating structure hr: hospitalman recruit (e-1) ha: hospitalman apprentice (e-2) hn: hospitalman (e-3) (see usn apprenticeships) hm3: hospital corpsman third class (e-4) hm2: hospital corpsman second class (e-5) hm1: hospital corpsman first class (e-6) hmc: chief hospital corpsman (e-7) hmcs: senior chief hospital corpsman (e-8) hmcm: master chief hospital corpsman (e-9) badges effective 2 april 1948 the navy changed the names and insignia of the hospital corps. the new titles were hospitalman recruit, hospitalman apprentice, hospitalman, hospital corpsman third, second, and first class, and chief hospital corpsman. the red geneva cross, which had marked corpsmen for 50 years, was replaced in the rating badge with the misattributed mark of the winged caduceus. the rates of senior chief and master chief hospital corpsman were added in 1958. see: list of united states navy ratings § administration, deck, technical, and weapons specialty ratings ships named in honor of hospital corpsmen reference: dictionary of american naval fighting ships uss benfold (ddg-65) uss caron (dd-970) uss de wert (ffg-45) uss durant (der-389) *also sailed as uscgc durant (wde-489) uss frament (apd-77) uss halyburton (ffg-40) uss francis hammond (ff-1067) uss jobb (de-707) uss daniel a. joy (de-585) uss lester (de-1022) uss liddle (de-206) uss litchfield (ag-95) uss thaddeus parker (de-369) uss david r. ray (dd-971) uss henry w. tucker (dd-875) uss valdez (ff-1096) uss walter c. wann (de-412) uss jack williams (ffg-24) uss john willis (de-1027) uss don o. woods (apd-118) uss william charette (ddg-130) uss john e. kilmer (ddg-134) u.s. navy enlisted medical personnel killed in action american civil war (1861–1865), 6 spanish–american war (1898), 3 world war i (1917–1918), 20 nicaragua (1932), 1 world war ii (1941–1945), 1,170 korean war (1950–1953), 109 dominican republic (1965), 1 vietnam war (1962–1975), 639 beirut, (1983), 15 gulf war (1990–1991), 0 afghanistan (2001–2021), 14 iraq war (2003–2010), 29 total in all conflicts: 2,013 decorations of valor awarded to hospital corpsmen medal of honor, 23 navy cross, 179 distinguished service cross (united states army), 31 silver star medal, 959 bronze star medal with combat "v" for heroism, 1,600 medal of honor recipients pre-world war i hospital apprentice robert h. stanley, usn (boxer rebellion) hospital apprentice first class william zuiderveld, usn (veracruz incursion) hospital apprentice fred h. mcguire, usn (philippine insurrection) hospital steward william s. shacklette, usn (boiler explosion in san diego) world war i pharmacist's mate first class john h. balch, usn hospital apprentice first class david e. hayden, usn world war ii hospital apprentice first class robert eugene bush, usn pharmacist's mate second class william d. halyburton, jr., usnr hospital apprentice first class fred f. lester, usn pharmacist's mate first class francis j. pierce, usn pharmacist's mate second class george e. wahlen, usn pharmacist's mate third class jack williams, usn pharmacist's mate first class john h. willis, usn korean war hospital corpsman third class edward c. benfold, usn hospital corpsman third class william r. charette, usn hospitalman richard d. dewert, usn hospitalman francis c. hammond, usn hospitalman john e. kilmer, usn vietnam war hospital corpsman second class donald e. ballard, usn hospital corpsman third class wayne m. caron, usn hospital corpsman third class robert r. ingram, usn hospital corpsman second class david r. ray, usn afghanistan war command master chief, seal edward byers, usn united states maritime service hospital corpsmen during world war ii, the united states maritime service created a hospital corps similar to the u.s. navy's and sent pursers through this hospital corpsman training, to serve in a combined administrative and medical role on civilian tankers, freighters, and oilers. prior to this, there were no competent trained personnel to perform first aid aboard these vessels. the purser-corpsman was trained in anatomy, physiology, pharmacy, clinical laboratory, hygiene and sanitation, emergency treatment, first aid, and nursing. they were taught how to administer injections, treat compound fractures, administer blood plasma, and suture wounds. the maritime service's hospital corps school was founded at the sheepshead bay maritime service training station on 7 december 1942. surgeon s.s. heilwell (r), united states uniformed public health service, was placed in charge of training. the course was taught over four months, with a 12-week period of didactic classroom experience and four weeks of practical experience at a marine hospital. the original class of 331 students resulted in 239 graduates on 12 march 1943, but demand saw an increase in the class to 600 students, to cycle in 50 student classes starting on a weekly basis. training stations were instructed to provide careful scrutiny by examining boards for all candidates. pursers on sea duty started arriving at the station on 10 august 1943. by 1 january 1944, there were 600 purser-corpsmen at sea, with 1,324 graduates in the maritime service. selection required an above average mark on the general classification test and interest in both administration and health care.