Recon corpsman trades cold of Alaska for heat of Iraq

[SR-25]

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq(Aug. 6, 2005) -- After coming to a crossroads in his life more than 18 years ago, Petty Officer 1st Class Bert Bath was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Bath found himself in trouble often as a teenager in Abbington, Penn., and was eventually faced with a decision that would change his life no matter what path he chose to follow.

“The Navy saved my life,” said the corpsman with Iraqi Interdiction Force Platoon, Echo Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. “It gave me a second chance and the opportunity to find out what all my problems had been, me. Once I figured that out, life seemed to be much easier.”

As he nears 19 years of service, and retirement, Bath looks back on why he joined the Navy in December 1986.

“Basically I was given an ultimatum,” Bath said while laughing. “I figured it would be the best choice considering the alternative. I raised my hand on a Friday and left on that Tuesday,” he added, referring to his oath of enlistment and ship to boot camp.

Bath had a contract to become an aviation electrician, however, upon arriving to boot camp he found out he was not qualified for the job. He was then given the option of either choosing another job or voiding his contract and going home.

“I actually called a Marine Corps recruiter from Navy boot camp,” he said. “I told the recruiter I wanted to be a Marine. He asked me where I was calling from and I told him that I was at Navy boot camp. He told me he couldn’t talk to me until I got out of there.”

Needless to say, Bath decided to stay in the Navy choosing to become a corpsman.

“I wanted to be a corpsman in the first place, but it wasn’t available when I was talking with the recruiter,” Bath said. “I ended up being a corpsman so I decided to stay in.”

While serving in the fleet, Bath came across some Marines wearing ropes around their shoulders. Curious about their garb, he asked another Sailor who they were.

“I found out they were recon Marines,” he said. “I thought they were so high-speed. I wanted to be doing what they were doing.”

Soon after his encounter with the recon Marines, Bath attempted and passed the reconnaissance indoctrination.

He was then attached to 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he got his first taste of what it meant to be a recon corpsman.

“We carried a log around everywhere we went,” Bath said. “When we did battalion PT [physical training] myself and another corpsman had to carry this big blue and gold log that said 2nd Recon Bn., BAS [Base Aid Station].”

Bath completed the Reconnaissance Indoctrination Program at Camp Lejeune’s Onslow Beach before going to the Amphibious Reconnaissance School in Little Creek, Va., in 1991. In 1992, he went to Panama City, Fla., and completed the Combat Dive School as well as Advanced Dive Medicine, making him a fully trained reconnaissance corpsman.

Across his career, Bath has traveled to more than 15 countries worldwide and most recently to Iraq, where he is currently stationed at Camp Fallujah with the rest of his unit, which arrived in country in March.

Bath came from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, where Echo Company, 4th Reconnaissance Battalion is based. His unit was attached to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Although he comes from a reserve unit, Bath is part of the inspector and instructor staff.

With more than 18 years in the Navy, 14 years have been spent attached to a reconnaissance unit.

“I’ve been in the community so long for the challenge,” Bath said. “It’s like no other. It’s hard but it’s very rewarding. We get to do a lot more and a lot more is expected of us. Plus, they pay us extra to jump out of perfectly good airplanes and dive underwater.”

Bath plans on staying in Alaska and becoming a youth pastor at his church after completing his career in the Navy.

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