2

A MESSAGE FROM THE NAVY SURGEON GENERAL 4

MEET THE FORCE 5

BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY 6

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND LOGISTICS 7

NAVY MEDICINE EAST 8

NAVY MEDICINE WEST 9

NAVY MEDICINE AROUND THE GLOBE 10

FOCUS ON READINESS: U.S. NAVY / MARINE CORPS 12

NAVY MEDICINE CAREERS 13

NAVY MEDICINE HISTORY 14

JOIN THE CONVERSATION 15

Surgeon General of the Navy

Chief, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Vice Adm. Forrest Faison

Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy

Deputy Chief, U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine 

and Surgery

Rear Adm. Terry J. Moulton

Force Master Chief

FORCM (SW/EXM/FMF) Hosea Smith Jr. 

Public Affairs Officer

Capt. Brenda K. Malone

Managing Editor

Mariah Felipe

O N T H E C O V E R 

THE ALMANAC 2018

U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Public Affairs Office

7700 Arlington Blvd. Suite 5113 

Falls Church, VA 22042-5113

The Navy Medicine Almanac is an annual 

professional publication of the U.S. Navy 

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Its purpose 

is to educate the general public about Navy 

Medicine’s mission and programs. Navy 

Medicine is a global health care network of 

more than 63,000 personnel that provide health 

care support to the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, 

their families and veterans in high operational 

tempo environments, at expeditionary medical 

facilities, military treatment facilities, hospitals, 

clinics, hospital ships and research units 

around the world. 

For questions or comments, e-mail: 

USN.NCR.BUMEDFCHVA.LIST.BUMED---PAO@mail.mil

(TOP LEFT) U.S. Navy photo 

by Petty Officer 2nd Class 

Brittney Cannady/Released

(BOTTOM RIGHT) U.S. Navy 

photo by Mass Communication 

Specialist 2nd Class Joshua 

Fulton/Released

Photo collage and graphics 

by Shane Stiefel, lead visual 

information specialist, 

Medical Graphic Arts Department

CONTENTS
3

1,175,000

$6.2 billion 63,000 Global network 

Military, civilian and 

contract personnel

EXPEDITIONARY MEDICINE

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

WARRIOR CARE GLOBAL HEALTH ENGAGEMENT

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

GARRISON HEALTH CARE

When Sailors and Marines go forward into harm’s way, 

Navy Medicine is there beside them on, above, below the 

sea and on the battlefield

Navy Medicine is committed to delivering high-value, highimpact education and training to enhance the professional 

development and readiness of our health care providers

Patient and family-centered care is our core philosophy and 

approach, providing comprehensive medical care for all Navy 

Medicine beneficiaries anytime, anywhere

Navy Medicine R&D programs enable us to remain agile 

in the world-class health care we provide to our service 

members and beneficiaries

Navy Medicine provides a seamless transition from 

battlefield, to bedside, to a robust reintegration support 

system so our warriors can lead productive lives

Keeping Sailors, Marines, and their families healthy, ready and on the job 

Providing world-class care anytime, anywhere above, 

below, on the sea and on the battlefield.

HOW WE DO IT

Beneficiaries - Sailors, 

Marines, retirees and their 

families

= 25,000

WHO WE ARE

WHO WE ARE

BEING THERE MATTERS

Global health partnerships create opportunities to engage 

with other nations, build long-lasting mutual relationships, and 

improve the readiness of our Navy and Marine Corps
4

A MESSAGE FROM THE NAVY 

SURGEON GENERAL

Official U.S. Navy photo Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class 

John Paul Kotara II/Released

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class 

John Paul Kotara II/Released

Welcome to the 2018 Navy Medicine Almanac! 

As the 38th Navy surgeon general, it’s my honor and privilege to lead an amazing team of more than 63,000 military, civilian, 

and contract personnel who work tirelessly every day to ensure the Navy and Marine Corps family has the best readiness and 

health in the world.

Navy Medicine honors and fulfills the trust placed in our hands by our nation to provide the best care possible to those who 

defend our freedom because we believe those who serve, including their families, are America’s most important line of defense.

From Navy Medicine’s headquarters just outside of Washington, D.C., to any of our military treatment facilities, research labs, 

training facilities, or support activities around the globe, preparing healthy Sailors and Marines to do our nation’s work is 

what we do. 

Our success depends on partnering with military medical services, civilian health care organizations, government agencies and 

leading academic and research institutions to stay up-to-date with the latest health care innovations and technology, conducting 

innovative medical research, and ensuring we are doing all we can to care for those entrusted to us anywhere they serve. 

The health of Sailors, Marines, and all others in our care is our number one priority. Throughout this Almanac we demonstrate why 

maintaining and building upon Navy Medicine’s essential medical capabilities is critical to the Navy and Marine Corps missions. 

Our people are the most important part of our organization. The diverse skills and competencies of those who care for our patients 

are what make the Navy Medicine team such an integral part of the Navy’s mission.

In every Navy Medicine Almanac we highlight Navy Medicine service members who have made an impact. This year, we’re 

showcasing Navy Medicine service members whose dedication to service and protection of our Sailors and Marines resulted in 

a U.S. Navy ship commissioned in their name. To date, 44 Navy Medicine shipmates have been honored in this way. 

If you’d like to learn more about Navy Medicine and our mission, I encourage you to join us on our social media platforms. 

We’ve made incredible progress in the last year, and I’m proud to be a part of such an innovative team, leading us into the 

future as we continue to provide the best care our nation can offer to those who serve. 

Vice Adm. Forrest Faison
5

MEET THE FORCE

Navy Medicine’s force master chief is the Navy surgeon general’s senior enlisted advisor. He or she is also dual-hatted as the 

director of the Hospital Corps, the Navy’s largest enlisted rating and only enlisted corps. 

Force Master Chief Hosea Smith Jr. assumed this position in March 2017. As the new force master chief, Smith reflects on his 

career and the value of Navy Medicine.

1. Why did you decide to join Navy Medicine?

 I grew up in Fayetteville, North Carolina as an Air Force brat, and as a result, I wanted to carry on my father’s legacy and join 

the Air Force. When I went to the recruiter’s office, the Air Force recruiter wasn’t there so I met with the Navy recruiter and 

decided to join the Navy without choosing what job I would have once I left boot camp.

 While at boot camp, I originally wanted to do clerical and administrative type of work, but once I read about the hospital corps 

and saw what they were about, I chose my job and the rest is history. 

2. What are some of the most distinct memories of your career in Navy Medicine?

My first tour as an Independent Duty Corpsman (IDC) on USS O’Brian (DD 975) was probably the most challenging assignment 

I’d ever had. IDCs are different because they are trained to serve as the sole source of medical care for the Sailors and Marines 

they deploy with. 

 In my case, I was responsible for the health of more than 300 people with only two junior Sailors working with me. The whole 

crew entrusts their health care to their corpsmen and it’s a responsibility we don’t take lightly. 

3. What is the Hospital Corps?

 The Hospital Corps is comprised of more than 30,000 men and women who are ready to provide health care to Sailors, Marines 

and their families no matter the environment. Our corpsmen are the heart of Navy Medicine. They’re on the front lines, standing 

shoulder to shoulder with doctors and nurses ensuring our shipmates and fellow Marines are receiving the best health care we 

can deliver. That’s why I’m proud to be a hospital corpsman myself, and to represent the force. My title may be Force Master 

Chief, but our hospital corpsmen are truly the force that keeps this organization running.

4. What is the Hospital Corps mission?

Our mission as hospital corpsmen is and will always be to support warfighters and their families by providing them the best 

health care our nation can offer. 

5. Why is Navy Medicine so important?

 Wherever the United States has Navy and Marine Corps forces, Navy Medicine is there. Whether it’s on the sea, below the sea 

or on the battlefield with the Marines, we are there. Wherever our Sailors and Marines go there’s a corpsman, a nurse or doctor 

ready to take care of them, making us invaluable to the Navy and Marine Corps mission. 

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class 

John Paul Kotara II/Released

U.S. Navy photo by Mariah Felipe/Released Official U.S. Navy photo
6

Since its establishment in August 1842, the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) serves as the 

headquarters for all naval medical personnel. Under Vice Adm. Forrest Faison’s leadership as the Navy 

surgeon general, and chief, BUMED, Navy Medicine ensures Sailors, Marines, their families and retirees 

are healthy, ready, and on the job.

BUMED is physically located within Defense Health Headquarters (DHHQ) in Falls Church, Virginia, 

just a few miles from the nation’s capital. More than 300 Sailors and more than 400 Navy civilians 

work together with contractor counterparts to develop policy and manage manpower, personnel and 

resources throughout the enterprise. BUMED also oversees Navy Medicine’s medical operations, 

research and development, and educational programs. 

This work enables Navy Medicine to answer the call whenever and wherever needed, from kinetic 

operations to global engagement. The ability to provide the Navy and Marine Corps with Sailors and 

Marines who are healthy and ready to complete their mission is truly the hallmark of Navy Medicine. 

Highly-trained, highly-specialized Navy Medicine personnel deploy alongside service members around 

the globe to provide mission critical support on any platform above, below or on the sea. This same 

group of outstanding medical personnel also provides world-class health care to the families of Sailors 

and Marines as well as retirees at military treatment facilities worldwide. 

Policies created at BUMED affect the way Navy Medicine personnel conduct business and provide 

health care around the globe. From a military hospital in the United States, to a Marine Corps battalion 

operating on the ground in the Middle East, or a naval ship and its crew steaming across the Pacific, the 

work done at BUMED allows Navy Medicine to provide world-class care anytime, anywhere. 

BUREAU OF MEDICINE 

AND SURGERY

WORLD WIDE REACH

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class 

Shamira Purifoy/Released

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class 

Ernest R. Scott/Released
7

Navy Medicine Education, Training and Logistics 

Command (NMETLC) is headquartered at Joint Base 

San Antonio - Fort Sam Houston (JBSA-FSH) in San 

Antonio, Texas. NMETLC is Navy Medicine’s central 

point of accountability for medical logistics and all 

formal education and training. NMETLC’s mission is 

to deliver professional, occupational and operational 

education, training and logistic solutions to support 

the Navy Medicine mission. 

Naval Reserve Medical Education and Training 

Command (NR-METC) - Based in Pensacola, Florida, 

NR-METC is responsible for developing programs and 

resources to educate, train and develop Navy Reserve 

Medicine. 

Navy Medicine Operational Training Center (NMOTC) - Pensacola, Florida

Consists of six detachments and nine training centers at 15 locations throughout the U.S. NMOTC 

provides training for operational medicine and aviation survival.

Navy Medicine Professional Development Center (NMPDC) - Located in Bethesda, Maryland, NMPDC is the 

cornerstone for Navy Medicine’s health services support, professional development training and education mission. 

NMPDC oversees the Naval Dental Postgraduate School and courses that focus on the practice and business of 

Navy Medicine.

Navy Medicine Training Support Center (NMTSC) - Based in San Antonio, Texas, with two detachments in 

San Diego, California and Portsmouth, Virginia, NMTSC provides administrative and training support to Navy staff 

and students assigned to the Medical Education and Training Campus, including basic corpsman training, advanced 

technical corpsman programs, and officer programs. In addition, NMTSC provides 10 U.S. Code (Uniform Code of 

Military Justice) authority and oversight to all Navy personnel assigned to the Defense Health Agency stationed in 

San Antonio, Texas.

Naval Medical Logistics Command (NMLC) - Headquartered at Fort Detrick, Maryland, NMLC is Navy Medicine’s 

center of logistics expertise, delivering patient-centered logistics solutions for military medicine. NMLC has oversight 

of Naval Ophthalmic Support and Training Activity (NOSTRA) at Yorktown, Virginia; Navy Expeditionary Medical 

Support Command (NEMSCOM) at Williamsburg, Virginia; and NMLC Detachment in Pirmasens, Germany. 

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND 

LOGISTICS

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class 

Michael J. Lieberknecht/Released
8

Navy Medicine East (NME) serves as Navy Medicine’s 

health care system in the eastern hemisphere, 

providing medical care to approximately 1 million 

patients throughout the eastern United States, 

Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

 

NME is anchored by Naval Medical Center 

Portsmouth (NMCP), the U.S. Navy’s oldest, 

continuously operating hospital, treating military 

members and their families since 1830. 

Aside from delivering world-class care to Navy and 

Marine Corps patients, NMCP provides awardwinning graduate medical education programs, and 

cutting-edge clinical research to ensure the nation’s 

warfighters—past and present—and their families receive the 

highest quality care, either above, on, or below the sea, 

on the battlefield or at home.

NME also includes public health experts at Navy and Marine Corps 

Public Health Center (NMCPHC). NMCPHC consists of 750 staff 

members with 10 facilities including:

 • The Navy Entomology Center of Excellence (NECE)

 • Navy Drug Screening Laboratories (NDSL)

 • Naval Dosimetry Center (NDC)

 • Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Units (NEPMU)

 • Navy Bloodborne Infection Management Center (NBIMC)

NMCPHC and their subordinate activities are responsible for 

surveying, consulting, developing, and shaping public health for 

the Navy and Marine Corps in areas ranging from entomology, 

drug screenings, environmental health, preventive medicine and 

blood borne disease. 

NAVY MEDICINE EAST

AT A GLANCE

Inpatient visits

28,000

Outpatient visits 

5,500,000

Prescriptions filled 

7,000,000

Babies delivered

5,800

As of September 30, 2017

FACILITIES

• Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune

• Naval Medical Center Portsmouth

• James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center

• Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center

• Naval Hospital Beaufort

• Naval Hospital Jacksonville

• Naval Hospital Pensacola

• U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay

• U.S. Naval Hospital Naples

• U.S. Naval Hospital Rota

• U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella

• Naval Health Clinic Annapolis

• Naval Health Clinic Charleston

• Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point

• Naval Health Clinic Corpus Christi

• Naval Health Clinic New England

• Naval Health Clinic Patuxent River

• Naval Health Clinic Quantico

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Shamira 

Purifoy/Released
9

Navy Medicine West (NMW) serves the Western Pacific, 

providing care to more than 675,000 beneficiaries across 10 

naval hospitals, two dental battalions and 51 branch clinics 

located throughout located throughout California, Washington, 

Hawaii, Guam, Korea, Japan and Diego Garcia.

NMW is anchored by Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), 

which is accredited by the Joint Commission and has the only 

Navy Medicine amputee center in the Western Pacific. 

NMCSD staff has been recognized for excellence by 

organizations such as the American College of Surgeons, the 

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Athena 

International, and the National Committee for Quality Assurance 

(NCQA). NMCSD’s hematology/oncology department has also 

been recognized as one of the best cancer centers in the 

Department of Defense. 

NMW also includes all of Navy Medicine’s research and development 

laboratories, which are overseen by Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) and include:

 • Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC) 

 • Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) 

 • Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL)

 • Naval Medical Research Unit San Antonio (NAMRU-SA)

 • Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton (NAMRU-Dayton)

 • U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 (NAMRU-3)

 • U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6 (NAMRU-6) 

 • U.S. Naval Medical Research Center Asia (NMRC-A) 

These labs are engaged in a broad spectrum of activity, from 

basic science in the laboratory, to field studies at sites in remote 

areas of the world and other operational environments in support of 

the Navy, Marine Corps, and joint U.S. warfighters. NMRC’s laboratory 

research focuses on infectious disease vaccine development; 

operational and undersea medicine; bone marrow research and 

registry; and biological defense.

NAVY MEDICINE WEST

AT A GLANCE

Inpatient visits

33,200

Outpatient visits

4,300,000

Prescriptions filled 

3,800,000

Babies delivered

7,400

As of September 30, 2017

FACILITIES• Naval Medical Center San Diego

• Naval Hospital Bremerton

• Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton

• Naval Hospital Lemoore

• Naval Hospital Oak Harbor

• Naval Hospital Twenty-Nine Palms

• U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa

• U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka

• Naval Health Clinic Hawaii

• 1st. Dental Batallion, Naval Dental Center Camp Pendleton

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class 

Ramon Go/Released 
10

North America

• Alaska, U.S.

• Arizona, U.S.

• California, U.S.

• Connecticut, U.S.

• Florida, U.S. 

• Georgia, U.S.

• Hawaii, U.S.

• Illinois, U.S.

• Louisiana, U.S.

• Maryland, U.S.

• Mississippi, U.S.

• New Hampshire, U.S.

• New Jersey, U.S. 

• New York, U.S. 

• North Carolina, U.S.

• Ohio, U.S. 

• Pennsylvania, U.S.

• Rhode Island, U.S. 

• South Carolina, U.S.

• Texas, U.S.

• Virginia, U.S.

• Washington, U.S.

• Washington D.C., U.S.

• Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
11

NAVY MEDICINE AROUND THE GLOBE

South America

• Peru

Europe and Africa

• Belgium

• Crete

• Djibouti

• Egypt

• Germany

• Ghana

• Hungary

• Italy

• Spain

Middle East

• Afghanistan

• Bahrain

Asia-Pacific

• Cambodia

• Diego Garcia

• Guam

• Korea

• Japan

• Papua New Guinea

• Singapore

• Vietnam

*NOTE: Map is not drawn to scale
12

The Navy is a cornerstone of American 

security and prosperity and is 

continuously operating forward around 

the world, on, above and below the 

sea. Navy Medicine will always be an 

integral part of the Navy no matter the 

platform or geographic region. Whether 

it’s an independent duty corpsman on a 

submarine, the medical team aboard a 

Navy vessel, a flight nurse on an aircraft 

or an entire health care delivery team 

at one of our clinics or hospitals, Navy 

Medicine’s mission is to equip naval 

forces and their families with the best 

care our nation can offer so they can stay 

healthy, ready and on the job. 

Wherever a Sailor goes, 

Navy Medicine is there.

The Marine Corps is America’s expeditionary force 

in readiness, forward deployed to respond swiftly 

and aggressively in times of crisis. As the nature of 

global conflict continues to change for our military, so 

does the demand to provide expeditionary care. Navy 

Medicine is highly-trained, highly-specialized and 

completely integrated into the Marine Corps mission 

worldwide – providing critical support anytime, 

anywhere, engaged in all aspects of expeditionary 

medical operations. The Navy Medicine team works 

tirelessly to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of Marines so they continue to be ‘first to fight.’ 

Wherever a Marine goes, Navy Medicine is there. 

FOCUS ON READINESS: 

U.S. MARINE CORPS

U.S. NAVY

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean M. Castellano/Released

Photo by Lance Cpl. Samantha Bray/Released 
13

NAVY MEDICINE CAREERS

Navy and Marine Corps health care providers are distinguished by five distinct corps. Each corps 

is comprised of personnel who specialize in particular health care fields, such as nursing or dentistry. 

Together, these corps represent Navy Medicine’s active duty and reserve service members who 

ensure the health and well-being of every Sailor, Marine and Navy Medicine beneficiary around the 

world. The corps work side by side with Navy civilians who supplement our military medical force 

in all areas from administrative work to medical professionals. For more information about a military 

career in Navy Medicine, please visit www.navy.com. For civilian careers in Navy Medicine, 

visit www.usajobs.com.

MEDICAL CORPS

est. March 3,1871

25

Specialties

4,400

Active and Reserve

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Medical Corps is comprised of the Navy’s physicians 

and surgeons. These individuals are practicing physicians 

and surgeons, or physicians in training, who continue 

to pave new frontiers in patient care delivery, medical 

education and biomedical research.

HOSPITAL CORPS

est. June 1 7, 1898 39

Specialties

30,000

Active and Reserve

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Hospital Corps is the Navy’s only enlisted corps. 

Navy corpsmen serve in scores of environments, utilizing 

the most advanced technology and sciences to support 

Sailors, Marines and their families. They stand ready to 

heed the call “corpsman up!”

NURSE CORPS

est. May 13, 1908 17

Specialties

4,000

Active and Reserve

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Navy nurses deliver care at the bedside, as licensed 

independent providers, instructors, recruiters, 

quality management managers, researchers and in 

administrative roles.

DENTAL CORPS

 est. August 22, 1912 15

Specialties

1,400

Active and Reserve

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Navy dentists maintain high operational readiness and 

train for all contingencies. They routinely deploy with 

Marine expeditionary units and aboard ships, where they 

assume roles in triage and surgical support far beyond 

their dental responsibilities.

MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS

est. August 4, 1947 31

Specialties

3,800

Active and Reserve

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

The Medical Service Corps is Navy Medicine’s most 

diverse corps, comprised of health care administrators, 

clinicians and scientists. These medical professionals 

are trained and focused on ensuring warfighter’s medical 

readiness, whenever they are called upon.
14

NAVY MEDICINE

NAMESAKES NAMESAKES

NAVY MEDICINE

USS Benfold

(DDG-65) 

USS Blackwood

(DE-219)

USS Boone

(FFG-28)

USS Bronstein

(DE-189)

USS Caron

(DD-970) 

USS Crowley

(DE-303)

USS Dewert

(FFG-45) 

USS Durant

(DE-389) 

USS Frament

(DE-677/APD-77) 

USS Grayson

(DD-435)

USS Gendreau

(DE-639)

USS Hammond

(DE-1067) 

USS Halyburton

(FFG-40) 

USS Heerman

(DD-532) 

USS Higbee

(DD-806)

USS Higbee

(DDG-123)

 USS Jobb

(DE-707) 

USS Joy

(DE-585) 

USS Kane 

(DD-235)

USNS Kane

(AGS-27/APD-18) 

USS Lester

(DE-1022) 

USS Litchfield

(DD-336) 

USS Liddle

(DE-206) 

USS Longshaw

(DD-559)

USS Miles

(DE-183)

USS O’Reilly

(DE-330)

USS Osborne

(DD-295)

USS Parker

(DE-369) 

USS Pinkney

(APH-2)

USS Rall

(DE-304)

USS Ray

(DD-971) 

USS Ringness

(DE-590) 

USS Ringness

(APD-100)

USS Rixey

(APH-3)

USS Tatum

(APD-81)

USS Tucker

(DD-875) 

USS Tryon

(APH-1)

USS Valdez

(DE-1096) 

USS Walter Wann

(DE-412) 

USS Jack Williams

(FFG-24) 

USS John Willis

(DE-1027) 

USS Wood

(DE-287)

USS Wood

(DD-317/ DD-715)

USS Woods

(DE-721/APD-118)

The 44 ships listed here have been commissioned in honor of 

naval medical personnel 
15

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