Ambulance driver aids service members, extends tour

Marine Corps News ^ | Oct 18, 2005 | Lance Cpl. Josh Cox

[SandRat]

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (Oct. 18, 2005) -- One country boy from Hilmar, Calif., ensures service members receive medical attention here, while on his third deployment since joining the Corps three years ago.

Cpl. Daniel W. Phipps, ambulance driver, Battalion Aid Station, Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Force Service Support Group (FWD), works with Navy corpsmen to aid service members here.

“I work with the CLB-8 BAS...[we] support all medical coverage on and off base for the unit,” he said.

Like many Marines deployed here, the 21-year-old has a huge responsibility resting on his shoulders at a very young age.

“I usually do emergency calls around base, and [I] go on convoys occasionally,” he said. “[Earlier in the deployment] I was also the driver for the mobile surgical unit that goes with the grunts to provide front line surgical capabilities in case Marines get hurt.”

Before becoming a Marine, Phipps grew up in a slow-paced town on the West Coast.

“I came from a small country town in the central valley of California,” said the 2002 Hilmar High School graduate. “It was all corn fields, orchards and dairies. I used to work as a diesel and tractor mechanic.”

Phipps said he discovered the Marine Corps while traveling to visit family as a child.

“When I was a kid, I would go visit my uncle in Nevada, and on the way we would pass the Marine base in Bridgeport, Calif.,” he said. “I always thought Marines were [hardcore] back then, and I wanted to be one ever since.”

Phipps decided to enlist in the Marine Corps when he was a junior in high school.

“I enlisted right around Sept. 11, 2001, and went to boot camp on Sept. 9, 2002 after doing around a year in the Delayed Entry Program,” he said. “I picked my job to be motor transportation while I was in the DEP, and after military occupational specialty school they sent me right to 2nd FSSG at Camp Lejeune, N.C.”

In the two years Phipps has been in the Corps, he has been on three deployments, and recently volunteered to extend here.

“For my first deployment, I went to Djibouti, Africa [with] Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa,” he said. “About two months after I got back from there, they sent me straight to Haiti. I got some time off after that and came to Iraq in February. I extended and now I get to do another seven months out here.”

Phipps said there are a lot of benefits that come with being a Marine.

“I would have to say that I like the traveling the best,” he said. “I was never too interested in traveling until I joined the military, and now I want to go everywhere. I also like the respect and support we get.”

There are also challenges that come with being a Marine, especially while on a deployment.

“The biggest challenge would be being away from family,” he said. “All my family is on the West Coast and I grew up really close to them. I never thought I would miss so many big events in the family.”

Even though Phipps is away from his loved ones, he works hard to aid in operations here and strives to learn as much as he can about the medical field.

“I'm proud to be a part of the war on terrorism,” he said. “I just like being able to learn all the medical stuff the [corpsmen] teach me. It's good stuff to know, especially out here, and I'm glad to know it just in case I ever have to use it.”

Phipps said he has been able to do many things in the Marine Corps, but looks forward to several events he hasn’t been able to participate in.

“I pretty much just want to pick up sergeant and go to a Marine Corps Ball,” he said. “I think I've done everything else I wanted to do.”

[SandRat]

Cpl. Daniel W. Phipps, ambulance driver, Battalion Aid Station, Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Force Service Support Group (FWD), sits in his ambulance here Oct. 6. Like many Marines deployed here, the 21-year-old has a huge responsibility resting on his shoulders at a very young age. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Josh Cox

Cpl. Daniel W. Phipps, ambulance driver, Battalion Aid Station, Combat Logistics Battalion 8, 2nd Force Service Support Group (FWD), stands in the CLB-8 BAS here Oct. 6. In the two years Phipps has been in the Corps, he has been on three deployments, and recently volunteered to extend here. Photo by: Lance Cpl. Josh Cox

[SandRat]

Marine Aid Station Ambulance Driver

[NavySEAL F-16]

Bravo!

Now, if only the MSM would publish stories about our outstanding military.

[Calpernia]

“I came from a small country town in the central valley of California,” said the 2002 Hilmar High School graduate. “It was all corn fields, orchards and dairies. I used to work as a diesel and tractor mechanic.”

Phipps said he discovered the Marine Corps while traveling to visit family as a child.

“When I was a kid, I would go visit my uncle in Nevada, and on the way we would pass the Marine base in Bridgeport, Calif.,” he said. “I always thought Marines were [hardcore] back then, and I wanted to be one ever since.”

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the ping!

[E.G.C.]

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