Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Keith Hussong

摘要

I joined the Navy to see the world. I hadn't seen much besides Green Bay, Wis., where I'm from. I wanted to get out on my own a little bit and journey, to see what's out there. I was interested in sports and in learning physical therapy, so after boot camp I chose the hospital corpsman rating, which was the path to physical therapy school in San Antonio, Texas, and Camp Pendleton, Calif. I've been in the Navy more than 22 years, with service in such overseas places as the Philippines, Guam, Okinawa and Sicily. Because my specialty is concentrated in only a few locations, I never served on a ship until I had 17 years in. In 2003, when aircraft carriers were opened up to assignment for physical therapy technicians, I joined the crew of the USS George Washington. That tour had the biggest impact on my career. We were in the Persian Gulf almost the whole time. I got to work with all the rates in the Navy, which was phenomenal.