MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT -- Navy corpsmen ensure the safety of Marines and fellow Sailors throughout the world and in every clime and place.
Petty Officer 1st Class Andrea Anderson is the leading petty officer for the corpsmen of Marine Air Control Group 28. Her responsibilities include keeping other corpsmen trained and keeping her Marines in fighting shape. In garrison, she mostly does administrative work and sees it as maintaining readiness for future deployments.
“You have to be ready because you have to keep the Marines ready to go,” said Anderson. “You’re kind of like the go-to person for them. You’re their doc, they need you to be ready.”
She enjoys the satisfaction of field work. She said being part of the life-saving efforts of Navy medicine is the best part about her job. Anderson deployed in 2004 to Iraq as part of the 1st Medical Battalion.
“I actually loved being out in the field,” said Anderson. “When I deployed in 2004, I was the medical regulator, so I was in charge of all the evacuations, so when people got hurt they came to us, and I sent them back out. You’re just there to take care of your patients. You’re not worrying about everything else.”