Petty Officer 3rd Class Jimmy D. Guidry, a hospital corpsman formerly with 3rd Medical Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, treats a local injured child during a 2007-2008 deployment to Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy of Petty Officer 3rd Class Jimmy D. Guidry).

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jimmy D. Guidry, a hospital corpsman formerly with 3rd Medical Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 35, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, on Camp Hansen, exemplified that expectation, during an Afghanistan deployment proving he can operate in the field as well as he does in a medical tent and wield an M-16 as precisely as he can a needle.

Growing up in Sulphur, La., 23-year-oldGuidry said he always wanted to be Marine, but the Navy simply won him over first.

Guidry's initial interest in the medical field was sparked by his sister, a nurse. That spark was fanned to a flame during his senior year of high school in 2004 when he attended a nurse's assistant course.

So Guidry left for Navy basic training Nov. 2, 2004, taking the first step to becoming a hospital corpsman.

A few years later, Guidry, then a seaman, showed his mettle when deployed in late 2007 to Afghanistan as a mentor and team corpsman with Embedded Training Team 5-3, 201st Corps, Regional Corps Advisory Command - Central Afghanistan.

That deployment called on Guidry's skills as a service member, when on Aug. 20, 2008, he had to employ and direct the ETT's crew-served weapons at the enemy positions of an attacking force of 50 anti-Afghan fighters.

Guidry then moved under heavy enemy fire through an open area to re-establish the communication system from Forward Operating Base Able-Main, Kunar province, to the Afghan National Army's observation posts.

For his actions, Guidry earned a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal with combat distinguishing device, adding to the Navy Achievement Medal with combat distinguishing device and two Army Achievement medals he earned during the Afghanistan deployment.

"When I received my awards it was probably the most exciting day I had outside of deployment," Guidry said. "I worked very hard to earn the awards I received and was very proud to get them."

From October 2007 to deployment's end in December 2008, Guidry went on more than 185 mounted and dismounted combat patrols and participated in more than 45 enemy engagements.

"Guidry was always the best at almost everything," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Bergeron, a hospital corpsman, who worked with Guidry at 3rd Med. Bn. and deployed to Afghanistan at the same time. "He was always the best at physical training and the best at what he did. He was a quick learner, and when it came down to work, he was the first to man up."

"He's got no fear," added Bergeron, of West Hartford, Conn. "He'll get put in a situation and do what has to be done, no matter what."

Guidry helped improve the ANA's medical capability at FOB Able-Main, by upgrading the clinic and establishing a sick call for ANA troops.

At base and on patrol, Guidry treated a variety of wounds sustained by ANA troops, U.S. service members and local villagers. Guidry worked side-by-side with ANA medics providing them the training and experience needed to be self-sufficient.

Guidry also aided the National Guard Security Forces aboard the base by improving their Improved First-Aid Kits, made up of tape, gloves and a nasopharyngeal airway, by disposing of unnecessary items and stocking the kits with tourniquets, more airway devices, 14 gauge needles, trauma bandages and gauze instead.

At FOB Vegas, Guidry was part of a patrol in the Korengal Valley province, when an improvised explosive device exploded and injured a gunnery sergeant. Guidry treated the injured Marine until medical evacuation arrived the next day. At the FOB, Guidry filled the position of a staff noncommissioned officer, advising the ANA platoon and patrolling with them in the valley.

"It felt good to finally be able to do my job," Guidry said. "I got to see some action and feel some adrenaline in my veins. I loved it; it was the time of my life."

Whether in Afghanistan or Okinawa, Guidry also sought action outside work by volunteering places such as the Okinawan American Animal Rescue Society.

"We picked up stray animals off the streets and put them in the kennels, so they would hopefully be adopted," said Guidry, who also volunteered at Goodwill.

"He was always looking for ways to better himself and those around him," Bergeron said.

Guidry, now a surgical technician at Naval Hospital Pensacola, Pensacola, Fla., said he misses the corpsman life.

"I love my job, being out in the field with Marines; it's awesome," Guidry said. "I'll definitely be missing it."