HIT, Iraq -- With 233 years of experience, many of which was spent with the Marines, the Navy has also learned to adapt and overcome, especially when it comes to celebrating its birthday.
Corpsmen from Company L., Weapons Co. and Headquarters and Service Co., 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 came together for a cake-cutting ceremony at the chow hall here Oct. 13 to celebrate the Navy birthday. The celebration gave the sailors a chance to share stories and talk about how the Navy has evolved over the years.
“It’s important to celebrate the birthday of the Navy because each year things change, so it’s nice to know how things worked back in the day,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason D. Smith, a corpsman with Headquarters and Service Co.
Though the celebration was somewhat more informal than it may have been stateside, it was no less important to the sailors. After enjoying a special meal, the sailors were given a birthday talk by Lt. Col. James B. Woulfe , the commanding officer of 3rd Bn. 7th Marines, who expressed his respect for the naval service. A message from Donald C. Winter, the secretary of the Navy, was then read by Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeremy P. Settlemire, the leading petty officer for the Battalion Aid Station, Headquarters and Service Co.
“The way the Navy has evolved, (it) now has the ability to send people out to the desert and fight a sustained fight away from ships and away from constant supplies,” said Navy Lt. Tyler Ensley, 28, a physician with Headquarters and Service Co., from Spokane, Wash. “(That) is just another demonstration of the evolution of the Navy.”
The birthday celebration also gave the sailors a chance to spend time with each other that they don’t normally get during deployments.
“We live with the Marines, we act just like them and we do our own part in combat and Operation Iraqi Freedom,” said Seaman Anjo Resurreccion Castro, 21, a corpsman with 3rd Bn., 7th Marines, from Keflavik, Iceland. “We make a band of brothers with the Marines, but never really see the corpsmen (with other companies), so we got together to realize who our real brothers are.”