CHAPTER IV
Sea Duty
I'VE OFTEN been asked by interested, if not very well-informed, civilians — and not infrequently with a supercilious look — "What does a Navy doctor find to do aboard ship in peacetime?"
The answer is: plenty.
Even though his patients are all male, and practically all of them young, every kind of case comes to the sick bay in the course of a single cruise. We have a saying in the Medical Corps: "In the Navy you may get anything from harelip to twins." Perhaps this isn't such an exaggeration now, since we have the Waves.
Aboard ship, the chief medical officer is much more than a ship's surgeon. He is depended upon for adequate treatment of the sick and wounded, and his advice and recommendations for promoting the health and well-being of the men are sought by the Line officers. He is also a part of the ship's military organization, one of the members of the fighting team.
Sick call is sounded every morning about eight o'clock. This is the medical officer's morning office hours, when patients present themselves at the sick bay for examination and treatment. There is a second sick call in the evening. During the day and at night the doctor is on call for accidents or any emergency that may occur.
A modern battleship is perhaps the highest type of concentrated mobile power developed by the mind of man. It is a mass of machinery, controlled by steam and electricity which must be
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