Role of the independent duty corpsman on the USNS Comfort (T-AH 20): the Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm experience.

Independent duty corpsmen (IDCs) have a significant role in providing health care on the USNS Comfort (T-AH 20). The IDCs are responsible for staffing sick call, emergency response teams, and resuscitation/stabilization teams. IDCs are trained in advanced patient care and in medical administrative and logistical duties. During peacetime, their function often focuses on primary care to the decrement of skills necessary to perform in medical emergencies. The Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm mobilization has emphasized the need for Navy medicine to continue its support of IDC training so that they are kept in a state of preparedness to competently deliver the full spectrum of care that is expected of them.