[NTHockey]

>>Foley and Krelle said the man believed to be Bradley was wearing a cartridge belt with ammunition pouches and wire cutters — which a Navy corpsman would not have had. <<

First aid pouches are worn on cartridge belts of that time. He may have carried more than one because of Iwo Jima’s terrain. Standard corpsman’s gear would have been too bulky.

Not saying anything one way or another; but there might have been a good reason.

[ExNewsExSpook]

Also, medics in the Pacific carried weapons for obvious reasons—the Japanese showed no regard for the red cross, any other protected symbols, or the humanitarian mission of those personnel. There are multiple reports of Navy corpsmen and Army medics fighting off Japanese attacks as they tended to the wounded. John Bradley was forever haunted by the death of a fellow corpsman, who was taken by the enemy off the battlefield, tortured, disfigured and executed by the Japanese.

So, it would not be unheard of for a corpsman to carry an ammo pouch for his weapon, along with his medical pack.