WRNMMC, Bethesda, MD  –   The Army Troop Command at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center celebrated Soldiers who are part of the Army Enlisted Medical Corps with cupcakes on March 1, the 136th anniversary of the corps.
 
"The Army Enlisted Medical Corps is the only enlisted corps in the Army that celebrates its anniversary," said Command Sgt. Maj. Chanda McGinnis, Troop Command's senior enlisted leader at WRNMMC. However, she added that many Soldiers who are in the corps are unaware of the corps distinguished history. "Of the 50 Army Medical Department personnel who have earned the Medal of Honor, 31 were enlisted. The Army Enlisted Medical Corps includes 22 military occupational specialties (MOS), and the combat medic specialist MOS is the second largest enlisted force in the Army," McGinnis added.
 
The roots of the Army Enlisted Medical Corps date back to March 1, 1887, with the birth of the Hospital Corps as an outgrowth of years of work by enlisted Soldiers as hospital stewards and requests by the Army surgeon general to Congress to formalize these positions. However, as early as 1775, hospital stewards were in charge of supplies from blankets and pillows to herbs and rags to make bandages and tourniquets for Soldiers of the Continental Army.
 
From there, the duties of those in the corps grew to encompass procurement of food and supplies, budget management, and all major administrative and logistical functions of hospitals. "We are going to educate our enlisted and others on the day's importance," McGinnis said.