Devildoc

term of endearment applied by us marines to their platoon-level medical personnel based on “devildog”. unlike the other services the marine corps does not have a medical field, so we get ours from the navy. a hospital corpsman is -ssigned to the platoon and he eats, sleeps, sh-ts, fights and sometimes dies with “his” marines.

a corpsman is probably the single most highly respected member of the us navy to an infantryman because he chooses to be there instead of some soft–ss remf job. we treat them like a mascot and f-ck with them constantly; within the platoon he’s har-ssed about his branch of service, uniform, buddies, car, parents, girlfriend (or lack thereof), haircut (or lack thereof) and any manner of other things you know will rile him up.

corpsmen tend to be highly protective of their marines and there are many accounts of “doc” coming to the aid of a wounded marine under heavy enemy fire. john “doc” bradley is one example, winning the navy cross a short time after helping to raise the flag on iwo jima (he’s one of the gentlemen immortalized on the monument).

the “devildoc” is poked, prodded and ridiculed within the platoon (all in good fun, mind you), but let someone from outside the unit say one negative word about him and they can stand the f-ck by. any marine worth his salt will buy a devildoc a drink at the drop of a hat whether he knows him or not.

also used when you’re trying to buddy up to the corpsman in order to get something from him.
marine – “oorah devildoc!”
corpsman – “yeah, yeah… whatever, jarhead.”

marine – “hey there, devildoc. wanna souvenir me one of those f-ckin’ cigarettes?”
corpsman – “golly gee, sure thing marine! take the pack!”
corpsman -to himself- – “broke–ss motherf-cker…”
united states navy enlisted hospital corpsman, (hm), who has volunteered to serve with the united states marine corps. this does not include the bas corpsmen or those who staff base clinics or hospitals. this term of endearment is reserved exclusively for corpsmen who actually cammie up and hump a ruck.

“hm3 chiarini of 1st battalion 2nd marines, 2nd marine division was awarded the silver star after making 4 trips across a hundred meter, bullet swept battlefield to retrieve his wounded marines. oorah, devil doc.”