Nancy J . Lescavage Rear Admiral Nancy J . Lescavage recently served as the 20th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps and was the Commander , Naval Medical Education and Training Command , Bethesda , Md . Early life . Lescavage hails from Port Carbon , Pennsylvania , and is a licensed nurse in that state . Navy Nurse Corps career . Since receiving her commission in May 1972 , Rear Admiral Lescavage has held numerous senior executive leadership positions to include : Assistant Chief , Health Care Operations , Bureau of Medicine and Surgery ( 2001 – 2002 ) ; Deputy Assistant Chief for Health Care Operations , Bureau of Medicine and Surgery ( 1999 – 2001 ) ; Commanding Officer , Naval Hospital , Corpus Christi , Texas ( 1997 – 1999 ) ; Executive Officer , Naval Hospital , Great Lakes , Illinois ( 1995 – 1997 ) ; and Commanding Officer , Fleet Hospital Five ( 1995 – 1997 ) . Additionally , she served as a Congressional Fellow in the Office of United States Senator Daniel K . Inouye [ Hawaii ] ( March 1993 – January 1995 ) . Quickly recognized as an authority on the legislative process and its application to health care , she provided critical liaison with the White House and health care task forces concerning National Health Care Reform issues . From August 1989 to March 1993 , as a Senior Health Facilities Planner for the Assistant Secretary of Defense ( Health Affairs ) , Rear Adm . Lescavage was responsible for the planning and design of military medical construction projects worldwide and for performing comprehensive health care and cost - benefit analyses in support of DoD initiatives . Prior to her Department of Defense assignments , she was in charge of the Recruit Medical Clinic at Recruit Training Command , Great Lakes , Illinois . This clinic was responsible for providing medical care to approximately 40 , 000 recruits annually . Other assignments include : National Naval Medical Center Bethesda , Maryland ; Naval Hospital Philadelphia ; and the Navy Medical Clinic , United States Embassy , London . During these assignments , she gained expertise in the specialties of Intensive Care , Coronary Care , Operating Room , Obstetrics , Neonatology , Recovery Room , Ambulatory Care , Cardiac Surgery , Medicine and General Surgery . Rear Adm . Nancy J . Lescavage recently served as the 20th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps and was the Commander , Naval Medical Education and Training Command , Bethesda , Maryland . Rear Admiral Nancy J . Lescavage currently is assigned as the Regional Director of the TRICARE Regional Office – West , San Diego , California , overseeing Managed Care Support contracts and an integrated health care delivery system in twenty - one states covering more than 2 , 700 , 000 TRICARE eligible beneficiaries . Education . Rear Adm . Lescavage ' s Diploma in Nursing is from Saint Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in Reading , Pennsylvania . She received a Baccalaureate degree in Nursing from the University of Maryland , a Graduate Degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and a Certificate in Management from the Wharton School of Business . Awards . Rear Adm . Lescavage has had numerous articles published and has been a keynote speaker on many occasions on a variety of topics . She is the recipient of the Legion of Merit ( four awards ) , the Defense Meritorious Service Medal , the Navy Meritorious Service Medal ( two awards ) , the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal , the Joint Service Achievement Medal , the Navy Achievement Medal , several unit commendations and the General George Joulwan Achievement Award . She is a member of the Board of Trustees of Catholic Distance University .