# Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory

The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) is located on the New London Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. It is a subordinate command of the Naval Medical Research Command.

## History and overview

NSMRL was established during World War II with a three-fold mission: select personnel for training in the Naval Submarine School; instruct hospital corpsmen and medical officers in submarine medicine, and research the medical aspects of submarine and diving operations, including night and color vision, human engineering, and personnel selection. Today NSMRL's core research and capabilities include undersea warfighter health and performance, submarine atmospheric monitoring, bioeffects of underwater sound and blast, submariner psychological fitness, submarine human systems integration, diving and hyperbaric research, submarine survival, escape, and rescue, hearing conservation, and undersea health research.
NSMRL is located in Groton, Connecticut near the mouth of the Thames River and Long Island Sound.

## Facilities

* Two hyperbaric chambers, saturation and hypobaric capability
* 1000 m$^3$ anechoic chamber
* 145 m$^3$ reverberant chamber
* Ten sound-proof audio testing booths
* Vision and auditory research suites
* Technical library
* Waterfront access (submarines and diving)
* Diving work boat
The NSMRL auditory laboratory includes a large, 1,000 m$^3$ anechoic chamber. The suspended cable floor and fiberglass wedges provide an "echo-free" environment that is essential for efforts on spatialized auditory displays and transducer evaluation. Additionally, there are ten instrumented sound-proof booths and a reverberant room. These facilities are integral to the work on human-machine interfaces, combat systems displays, hearing conservation, audio signal enhancement, noise reduction techniques, and diver hearing.
The laboratory has a 142 m$^3$ enclosed atmosphere testing environment and facilities for cardiopulmonary and metabolic workload assessment. It also has maintained close collaboration with the Royal Navy and its facilities at Alverstoke, England on several projects. NSMRL's diving research program is supported by a saturation diving chamber certified to pressures simulating 350 fsw and a fully instrumented hyperbaric treatment chamber. Both chambers are capable of supporting multi-diver teams and associated medical, physiological, and exercise equipment. The laboratory also maintains an enclosed 25-foot Boston Whaler equipped with GPS and radar to support open water diving research.

### NSMRL Officers in Charge

| CAPT Charles W. Shilling, MC, USN | Jan 1942 - Sept 1947 |
| CAPT Thomas L. Willmon, MC, USN | Sept 1947 - Aug 1951 |
| CDR Gerald J. Duffner, MC, USN | Aug 1951 - Sept 1956 |
| CAPT Joseph Vogel, MC, USN | Sept 1956 - May 1959 |
| CAPT George F. Bond, MC, USN | May 1959 - June 1964 |
| CDR Earl H. Ninow, MC, USN (Acting) | July 1964 - Nov 1964 |
| CAPT Walter F. Mazzone, MSC, USN (Acting) | Dec 1964 - July 1965 |
| LCDR Paul G. Linaweaver, MC, USN | Oct 1965 - Feb 1966 |
| CAPT Jack L. Kinsey, MC, USN (Ret) (Acting) | Feb 1966 - July 1967 |
| CAPT Charles F. Gell, MC, USN (Ret) (Acting) | July 1967 - July 1968 |
| CDR Joseph D. Bloom, MSC, USN | Aug 1968 - July 1972 |
| CAPT John H. Baker, MC, USN | July 1972 - May 1973 |
| CAPT Raymond L. Sphar, MC, USN (Acting) | June 1973 - July 1973 |
| CAPT Raymond L. Sphar, MC, USN | July 1973 - Dec 1974 |

### NSMRL Commanding Officers

| CAPT Raymond L. Sphar, MC, USN | Dec 1974 - June 1978 |
| CAPT Robert A. Margulies, MC, USN | June 1978 - Aug 1981 |
| CAPT William C. Milroy, MC, USN | Aug 1981 - Aug 1985 |
| CAPT Claude C. Harvey, MC, USN | Aug 1985 - Aug 1989 |
| CAPT Robert G. Walter, DC, USN | Aug 1989 - Oct 1992 |
| CAPT Paul K. Weathersby, MSC, USN | Oct 1992 - Aug 1994 |
| CDR Stephen F. Blacke, MSC, USN | Aug 1994 - July 1995 |
| CAPT Robert G. Walter, DC, USN | July 1995 - Aug 1997 |
| CAPT Mark T. Wooster, MSC, USN | Aug 1997 - July 1999 |
| CAPT Michael D. Curley, MSC, USN | July 1999 - July 2002 |
| CAPT Garry A. Higgins, MSC, USN | July 2002 - Oct 2004 |
| CAPT J. Christopher Daniel, MC, USN | Oct 2004 - Sept 2006 |
| CAPT David G. Southerland, MC, USN | Sept 2006 - Sept 2009 |
| CAPT Paul C. Kelleher, MC, USN | Sept 2009 - June 2012 |
| CAPT Steven M. Wechsler, MC, USN | June 2012 - May 2015 |
| CAPT Frederick E. Yeo, MC, USN | May 2015 - Aug 2018 |
| CAPT Kim L. Lefebvre, MSC, USN | Aug 2018 - Aug 2020 |
| CAPT Katharine K. Shobe, MSC, USN | Aug 2020 - Jul 2022 |
| CAPT Matthew H. Jamerson, MSC, USN | Jul 2022 - Present |