# Navy Disease **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 2, 2014, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493 "2014-05-02T07:36:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493/21 "2014-05-09T03:00:07Z")
FTR, ITC = Independent Duty Corpsman. Larger vessels can have physicians assigned as crewmembers. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493/22 "2014-05-11T11:52:54Z")
the stats about deaths to combat vs. deaths from disease only include the stats for the Americans? civil war, both sides? We have participated in some wars, though, where we disproportionately caused, all by ourself, very large numbers of civilian deaths by disrupting the society in which the war was conducted. At the end of the Spanish American War (which we, of course, provoked for empirical reasons) the Philippines were denied the independence they had been fighting for against the Spanish. We then attacked the Philippine rebel army with no quarter, lots of torture, atrocity after atrocity…but we only killed 25000 of them…unfortunately, the disruption to their lives caused 1 million added deaths from famine and disease. Funny we don’t learn about that in school. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493/23 "2014-05-11T17:23:33Z")
My favorite friend-of-a-friend story about disease in the Navy: In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from land, crewmen suddenly start seeing the doctor for venereal disease. An investigation reveals that one of the men has an inflatable love-doll that he has been renting to his shipmates, and not properly sterilizing between rentals. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493/24 "2014-05-11T17:39:13Z")
> [@crucible](#): > > …At the end of the Spanish American War (which we, of course, provoked for **empirical** reasons) the Philippines were denied the independence they had been fighting for against the Spanish… I do not think that means what you think it means. More Navy medical fun: [Navy Hero to Earn Medal for 1942 Surgery at Sea : NPR](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4503760) ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493/25 "2014-05-12T14:33:23Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I do not think that means what you think it means. > > More Navy medical fun: [Navy Hero to Earn Medal for 1942 Surgery at Sea : NPR](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4503760) what do you think I misunderstand? I probably do, but you shouldn’t leave us hanging, being too polite to disrobe my lack of intelligence! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493/26 "2014-05-12T16:26:34Z")
Empirical: > [@](#): > > em·pir·i·cal > emˈpirikəl/ > adjective > adjective: empirical > > ``` > based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic. > > ``` That doesn’t make sense in the quoted context. The word you seem to want in that sentence, based on the context, and looking for words that would fit that ‘empirical’ could be mistaken for, is ‘imperialist’. ---
**Author:** ![crucible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@crucible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crucible)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493/27 "2014-05-13T03:50:34Z")
you are absolutely correct. Empire building is not, as my mind derived, empiricism, or empirical behavior. Imperical behavior builds empires. I wonder if my mind is simply wearing out, sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493/28 "2014-05-13T14:04:56Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > …The word you seem to want in that sentence, based on the context, and looking for words that would fit that ‘empirical’ could be mistaken for, is ‘imperialist’. Quite. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/navy-disease/687493.md?page=1)