NSW HMs Selected as IDCOY Awardees, FY23

Three Hospital Corpsmen (HM) within the Naval Special Warfare community earned Independent Duty Corpsman of the Year (IDCOY) honors in their respective categories for fiscal year 2023.

An IDCOY award selection board comprised of 32 senior enlisted HM panel members scored and ranked 72 individual nomination packages to consider which IDCs demonstrate the best technical competence, leadership, and overall contribution to the Navy’s mission. From receipt to final result, the IDCOY judging process takes approximately two months to complete. When CNO announced IDCOY winners this past May, 10 winners were selected from across eight IDC platforms.

Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Joseph M. Malabanan, born in the Philippines but raised in San Diego, and previously assigned to Naval Special Warfare Group One (NSWG-1), is the Special Operations Forces (Junior) IDC of the Year. Malabanan is currently assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 5. Malabanan said his leadership at NSWG-1 was a pivotal and positive experience for him that paved the way for him to be an IDCOY winner.

“From the time I checked in to NSWG-1 in 2020 I was inspired by my senior leaders that I looked up to, more specifically IDCs at the clinic,” said Malabanan. “It has been a personal goal of mine to strive to be better. The leaders have shown me the road map and ladder to success. All I did was follow it and climb it.”  

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jonothan St. Clair, from Pearland, Texas and assigned to Naval Special Warfare Group Eight (NSWG-8) Logistics and Support Unit, is the Special Operation Forces (Senior) IDC of the Year. St. Clair is attached to a Navy Diver platoon where he fills two roles as both a diver and a corpsman.

 “I feel fortunate to be in the NSW community as a Deep-Sea Diving [Medical Technician and] IDC where you can partake in diving but foremost provide direct, expeditionary medical support for high-risk operations,” said St. Clair. “The opportunity to help a teammate when they are having a rough day and problem-solving under pressure (treating a patient/casualty) is what I enjoy most about being an HM in the NSW community.”

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class David J. Brown, from Redlands, California, assigned to Naval Special Warfare Center (NSWCEN), is the Shore Commands (Overall) IDC of the Year.

Brown, for a 12-year Navy veteran, values his role in the NSWCEN medical department, which care to Navy SEAL and SWCC candidates. He considers it an excellent patient care opportunity.

“NSWCEN Medical works hard ensuring that students can perform at the high standard needed to complete [Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school],” said Brown. “I feel that the personnel assigned here are constantly assessing for process improvement. We have the right players in the right positions to provide the best care possible to the students and staff training future operators.”

The U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine (BUMED) defines an IDC as a specially trained corpsman who serves aboard ships or stations without a medical officer. IDCs, crucial to the health and welfare of Sailors and Marines, operate at sea, on shore, and with special operations forces.

“My mentor Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Spencer Grey, who I often refer to as “The Godfather,” was a huge influence on me to become an IDC and to hold myself to a high standard,” said Brown. “He taught me organization, accountability, and to be humble. He was able to explain that no matter where you go or what you do, you can always do just a little bit more.”

According to the Naval History and Heritage Command, IDCs have been a part of the operational Navy since the early 1900s, when the fleet began needing a higher level of care from corpsmen with more senior level experience to meet its growing medical needs. Around that time, there were over 290 commissioned ships ranging from battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, but only 124 Navy Physicians assigned to cover those ships. During World War I, IDCs served independently aboard approximately 100 ships in war zones with crews of less than 125 men.  Those IDCs were the sole providers of care for small detachments of Marines, and also served at isolated shore stations.

The imbalance grew over the years, and in response, the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) established the Pharmacist's Mates School in Hampton Roads, Virginia in 1917 as the first advanced school for training prospective IDCs to ensure corpsmen would gain additional, required skillsets.
Currently, according to the US Navy Bureau of Medicine, IDCs are comprised of 1,400 men and women serving in four recognized Navy Enlisted Codes (NECs): Submarine Force (8402), Fleet Marine Force (FMF) Recon (8403), Surface (8425) and Deep Sea Dive Technician (8494).

Naval Special Warfare is the nation's elite maritime special operations force, uniquely positioned to extend the Fleet's reach and gain, and maintain access for the Joint Force in competition and conflict.