USS Mississippi corpsman sub crew's health in his hands

Master Chief Petty Officer Bill Stoiber of Arlington, Calif., works in his quarters onboard USS Mississippi.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Gordon Bland had an adventurous first night at sea on his first submarine. A midshipman did something he wasn't supposed to do, and wound up banging his head and slicing his scalp open.

As an independent duty corpsman, Bland was the ship's only medical professional. Over the next three days, he tended to the injured man, sending reports to shore physicians and getting instructions, in addition to stapling his wound up.

That's toward the extreme end of duties of the USS Mississippi's "Doc."

He's somewhat equivalent to a physician's assistant. A corpsman can write prescriptions, and he oversees the Occupational Safety and Health Administration programs and the radiation health program, which tracks exposure of all crew members.

Bland said most of his cases are industrial in nature: cuts, bumps and bruises. A lot of preventive medicine goes on, but he'd also be on the hook to do emergency surgery in a pinch. Think appendectomy on the wardroom table.

Being a part of the first crew on the USS Mississippi has allowed him to start all the ship's programs from scratch, something everybody on the boat agrees gives them a unique place in its history.

When asked about the biggest changes he's seen aboard submarines, though, Bland sounds like the undersea warrior all the crew members are.

"Our mission in the Navy has changed as we got away from the Cold War to the littoral seas," he said, referring to the shallow waters near land. "I think we're being more aggressive as a submarine force."