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Ex-butcher turned Sailor now sutures service members

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Ryan Throneberry
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, a highly decorated U.S. Marine Corps officer, once said, "There's no better in the business than a Navy corpsman."

A hospital corpsman is a medical specialist who serves with both Navy and Marine units. The Navy corpsman rating has a storied history and will soon celebrate its 115th birthday.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Pulliam, who calls New Orleans home, is a hospital corpsman attached to Marine Aircraft Group 49 here.

"We work in various facets of the medical field anywhere from managing medical records to performing minor procedures," said the corpsman. "It is our job to keep our Sailors or Marines fit and ready to serve to the best of their abilities."

Corpsmen are referred to as 'Doc' while serving among Marines; a term which shows mutual respect between the Marines and their caretaker.

"Doc was a title I had to earn while stationed here," said Pulliam. "When I first got here, they just called me by my rate, HM2. As they got to know me better, the mutual respect grew."

Corpsman work in a wide array of medical capacities, including shore establishments such as naval hospitals and clinics, aboard ships and as the primary medical caregivers for Sailors downrange.
Pulliam said his favorite part of his job is helping people, which is why he originally sought out information on medical jobs in the Navy. Prior to his enlistment, the "Big Easy" native worked as a meat cutter in butcher shops and grocery stores.

"It definitely is an interesting transition now that I think about it," said Pulliam. "Being a former butcher certainly lends to the fact that I have no fear of blood whatsoever. Suturing or plugging open wounds doesn't bother me at all."

Pulliam sees as many as 10 to 50 Marines a day as part of his duties at MAG-49; a number he says is small compared to his first tour of duty aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

Close to 7,000 Sailors are on a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, with only about 15 corpsman and a handful of nurses and doctors.

Pulliam spoke of one occasion aboard the Roosevelt which he said he will always remember as his proudest moment as a Corpsman during which he assisted in the medical evacuation of a fellow Sailor.

The Roosevelt was off the coast of Virginia when, during an exercise, a crewmember started to experience extreme abdominal pain. When X-rayed, doctors found the patient had numerous gall stones and needed to be immediately flown back to Naval Station Norfolk. Pulliam was chosen to ride along on the CH-53 Sea Stallion for the two-hour trip back to shore. His job was to provide the patient with intravenous painkillers every 20 minutes through an IV on his hand.

"The fact they trusted me with such a task so early in my career really added to my confidence and love of my job overall," said Pulliam.

Another memorable Roosevelt experience occurred when one of Pulliam's friends fell overboard while working on the flight deck. The Sailor was carrying heavy chains used to tie down aircraft when he was dragged overboard off the aft side; falling almost 90 feet into the water below. He was knocked out on impact.

"Luckily he was wearing his float coat or he might have been sucked down by the rotors," said Pulliam. "Because I knew him, I was selected to help him back to operational status through physical therapy and rehab. Needless to say, my time on the Roosevelt was pretty interesting."

Although Pulliam thoroughly enjoyed his time at sea, he said being detached with a Marine unit is by far his favorite yet.

"It's a different beast," said Pulliam in reference to being stationed with a Marine unit. "I feel like the mentalities vary between the blue side and green side. During my time at MAG-49, I have really come to enjoy working with Marines and I hope to continue to do so in the future."