DVIDS – News – NMRTC Twentynine Palms emphasizes the Marine medical career on the local MOS Expo

Twentynine Palms, California – Sailow from the Marine Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Twentynine Palms presented the career opportunities of the Marine Medicine to the local high school students during a recently issued MOS on May 1, 2025 in the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center -S exhibition (McAGCC) -Palms.

Cmdr. The Christina Carter, who came from Springdale, Maryland, directed the delegation of the Marine Medicine at the event, which aimed to introduce the students to various military career paths and to raise awareness of services in all branches.

Carter was joined by the Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Hope Perrault and Hospital Corpsman 2nd class (HM2) Thalia Vasquez from NMRTC Twentynine Palms as well as HM2 Alvarez Kenyon and HM2 Mark Martin from the 7th Marine Regiment. Together they provided the students practical demonstrations, personal experiences and detailed overviews of what it means to serve as a Navy Hospital Corpsman.

“One of the most important things I emphasized was the NROTC program (Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps) for students who are interested in college before entering the military,” said Carter. “It is a great way to pay for college and to explore career paths in the nurse-corps, medical corps, surface war, aviation and marine-corps officer communities.”

The NROTC scholarship covers complete tuition fees and fees, a scholarship for books and in some cases space and board – which make it a sustainable and attractive option for students who are looking for a higher education and a military career, a profitable and attractive option.

Carter not only provided information about the registered medical career, but also committed students with a personal report on their trip through the NROTC program at Hampton University.

“I have my personal experiences in NROTC and how it contributed to creating my career in the navy,” she said. “It is by far one of the best decisions that I made after the high school and made it possible for me to travel the world, to graduate in public health, to pursue my passion with nursing and to offer my family a financially stable lifestyle.”

The MOS exhibition offered a platform team of seafarers to highlight the different roles in marine medicine. The students learned about career tracks within the assessment of the hospital corpsman, including options in field medicine, clinical care and in advanced practice specialties. The Greenside Hospital Corpsmen, embedded in Marine Corps units, demonstrated medical interventions on fields and shared their experiences in strict environments.

A highlight of the event was a practical display in which the students were invited to raise and transport a mannequin on a military fight stretcher, which simulated the evacuation of the victims in this area. This interactive component, which was facilitated by the medical staff of the Marine Corps and the Marine staff, gave the students an insight into the physical and logistical requirements of combat medicine.

“I think this environment was perfect for the students of the high school and enabled them to see how the marine and marine corps work together for surgical effectiveness,” said Carter.

The collaborative character of the event underlined the common relationship between the marine and the marine corps, especially in medical roles. Navy Corpsmen often serve alongside Marines and offer critical medical care in both Peace period and combat scenarios.

After the event, Carter observed a noticeable interest in marine medicine, especially for students with family ties for military service.

“Several students have expressed interest in pursuing a career in the healthcare system, from hospital corpsman to nursing to the doctor,” she said. “Some of the students said that they have family members who served with the military and how this encouraged them to take this option into account for their future.”

For many students, the MOS exhibition served as a formative experience and offered clarity and instructions on how to take into account their revenue. The ability to ask service members personalized, detailed questions about their career proved to be invaluable.

“I think the most effective aspect of the MOS exhibition was to suspend the students from all possible options for joining the military, from the registered to the officer,” said Carter. “Many students were not sure what they wanted to do after the high school, and this Expo enabled them to ask the service members in detail and personalized questions.”

The event reinforced NMRTC Twentynine Palms' constant commitment to commitment, mentors and recruitment in the community and underlines the important role that Navy Medicine plays to support the operational willingness of Marines, which are stationed at MCAGCC, the largest American marine corps installation of the world.