American Assn of Navy Hospital Corpsmen: From the members

Death of Lejeune corpsman under investigation

Staff report
Posted : Friday Feb 13, 2009 6:02:23 EST

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — An investigation is under way into the Monday death of a Navy corpsman at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew J. King, 29, of Black Forrest, Colo., was hit by an errant bullet during training at Lejeune’s Stones Bay range, according to a report by WITN, a NBC affiliate in Jacksonville. He was assigned to II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group.

II MEF officials would not release further details about the incident. A base spokesman told WITN that King was flown from the range to the Lejeune’s Naval Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

King, who joined the Navy on Oct. 1, 1996, was promoted to petty officer 2nd class in September 2004, according to the news release. He joined II MEF’s Headquarters Group Oct. 15, 2008.

His decorations include three Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals with Combat V, and The Presidential Unit Citation.

Dear Mr. Denis, I am documenting the original Corpsman barracks at National Naval Medical Center as the building was demolished to provide a site for the new Intrepid building. I am a subcontractor to the navy. Would you be willing to post an email stating that I would be interested in any recollections or photographs of men who lived in Building 12 at NNMC? My thanks in advance, Bill Bill Lebovich architectural historian/photographer architecturalphoto@mac.com 7302 Summit Avenue Chevy Chase, MD 20815-4030 (301) 467-2831 www.BillLebovich.com

Navy Times 18 August 2008

Top enlisted Marines push for Corpsmen pay equity: When sailors deploy with Marine units, they live in the same conditions, eat the same food and face the same dangers. But when Marine units are extended in Iraq or Afghanistan, the sailors don’t always get the same bonus pay. That needs to change, the Corps’ top enlisted members say. The Corps’ sergeants major community has recommended to Marine Commandant Gen. James Conway that the service investigate options for giving those sailors the same assignment incentive pay (AIP). “You’re talking about being fair,” said Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlton Kent, the Corps’ senior enlisted adviser. The recommenda tion came out of the Sergeants Major Symposium, an annual meeting of top enlisted Marines in which policy recommendations are debated. Six command master chiefs were allowed to participate in the symposium for the first time. Command Master Chief Raphael Sanchez, the top enlisted sailor with I Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Corps Central Command, said the change would apply primarily to corpsmen, but also to religious program specialists and other sailors serving with Marines. About 8,000 sailors serve with the Corps. Sailors whose combat zone deployments are involuntarily extended beyond 12 months receive the same as Marines, -- $800 per month in AIP and an additional $200 in hardship duty pay, said Capt. Jerry Logan, acting director of the Navy’s Military Personnel Plans and Policy Division. But the Navy has not sought to expand AIP to match the Corps’ policy of paying $250 per month to Marines extended beyond 210 days but less than 365 days, Logan said. “The Navy’s retention, recruiting and mission requirements differ from the Marine Corps, thus we use the Assignment Incentive Pay program differently,” he said. The Navy offers AIP for various hard-to-fill billets via an auction-style website; sailors submit bids for pay they would accept in exchange for orders. Sanchez said he is impressed with the Corps’ openness to discussing sailor issues. “I’ve been serving with the Marine Corps since 1993, and this is probably the20most progressive that I have seen the Marine Corps be,” he said.