Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Craig Humes

Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Craig Humes decided to be a combat medic shortly after joining the Navy at age 19.

During his first tour at the Portsmouth, Virginia, Naval Medical Center, Humes began to hear some of his enlisted leaders talk about serving with the Marines on what the corpsmen call the “green side” of their community.

Many corpsmen love serving with the Marines because of how the Corps reveres the sailors charged with patching them up on the battlefield while also caring for their day-to-day health.

“Based on their encouragement, I decided to go to the green side and I’ve never looked back,” he said.

On his own time, the 37-year-old sailor volunteers, building wheelchair ramps for disabled veterans and others who need them. And he is also preparing to start helping foreign-born refugees who have just arrived in the U.S. to get on their feet and live independently.

And even when he retires from the Navy, he’s still got service on his mind.

“When my Navy days are over, I very much want to work for the Veterans Administration and continue to serve, trying to help improve that organization,” he said.

“There is so much potential in that organization for taking care of our veterans that I would love to be a part of that solution in some way, too.”

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