Category: Defence Intelligence

Source: United States Navy (Medical)

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba (Feb. 16, 2024) – Some skill sets are too important to lose, that’s why round-robin training is held quarterly at U.S. Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay.

Director of Expeditionary Medicine and Department Head of Staff Education and Training (SEAT), Cdr. Alexis McDermott, coordinated the Jan. 25 event to familiarize Sailors with medical situations and techniques that are not often encountered here. The training included five different stations: Advanced Trauma Life Support “quick hits,” litter-bearer training, intravenous (IV) start in the dark, crash cart familiarization and safe food handling.

The round-robin training involved diverse scenarios, ranging from emergency response simulations to medical procedures. Sailors rotated through these stations, enhancing their proficiency in various aspects of healthcare delivery. This approach reinforced individual skills and fostered teamwork and adaptability in a medical setting.

“This training is important because we are a forward-deployed, low-volume hospital,” said McDermott. “Some sailors haven’t started an IV since being stationed here because it’s not a skill they use in the department where they’ve been assigned. These skill sets can be lost very quickly; we don’t want them to lose operational relevance.”

All employees were invited to attend the training, regardless of their background or experience.

Hospital Corpsman Almer Vincent Samaniego, a dental technician, was assigned to U.S. Naval Medical Readiness and Training Command (USNMRTC) Guantanamo Bay, as his first duty station.

“We practiced packing a gunshot wound in a field environment and then helped control bleeding on a wound that required the use of a tourniquet while at the Advanced Trauma Life Support station. I experienced this training in ‘A-school,’ but the training here was interesting and a good refresher,” Samaniego said, referring to the Navy’s Accession School where Sailors develop a working knowledge of basic principles and techniques in their career field.

“Cdr. [Andrew] McDermott did a really good job explaining how to pack a gunshot wound,” Samaniego continued. “He explained every detail and talked about the equipment and hemostat gauze in very simple terms that made it easy for anyone – even employees without medical knowledge – to understand.”

Samaniego, originally from Cavite City, Philippines, moved to Vallejo, Calif., in 2019. He lived there until he joined the Navy in 2023.

“I have never started an IV in the dark, Samaniego said, referring to the station where teams had to begin an intravenous infusion in a dark room using only a flashlight. “It was challenging and fun; it was interesting because it’s rare to practice an IV in the dark. I think it’s important training because if the power goes out, or if I am deployed and there’s a tragedy, I would be more comfortable starting an IV.”

While assigned to USNMRTC Guantanamo Bay, Sailors can focus on education and certification, so they are more skilled, confident and ready to execute the mission at their next duty stations.

In November, the hospital held a mass-casualty exercise where Sailors needed to transport patients on litters. This exercise revealed the need for litter-bearer training.

“We were transporting patients in unison, as a team, and realized this was something we could improve on,” McDermott said. “We decided that addressing it during round-robin would be a good way to get a lot of sailors trained.” In a clinical setting, the assembly and use of a litter is not common.

“We get familiar with what we do on a day-to-day basis,” McDermott said. “Getting these basics is a good way to offer the fundamentals of how to move a patient effectively.”

“Working with Marines, working on a ship or being an individual augmentee, you never know when you may be in a situation that requires your help,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Gregory Joyce, who led the litter-bearer training. “If you find yourself in an operational environment, you might be asked to be on a litter team. It’s important that you get to know your team, work with your team and get familiar with the equipment. You don’t want to go out there and have no understanding of what you’re doing. Having these fundamentals and doing quarterly training is vital, especially for patient safety.”

Joyce shared his real-world experience, taking Sailors through the basics of how to set up a litter, when to use it and how to use it successfully. He emphasized the importance of communication as the team members worked together to load, pick up and carry a patient.

“I was on a litter team when I was deployed to Afghanistan,” said Joyce, a laboratory technician. “You never know when a situation is going to come up and you need to help.”

Prior to the mass-casualty drill, Sailors practiced radio etiquette, knowing it would be tested during the exercise. Round-robin training was used to help them prepare.

“If you aren’t using radios all the time, you forget how to do it,” McDermott said.

“At the round-robins, I often ask if sailors have any topics they would like to learn about or would like to teach,” McDermott continued. “The feedback I get keeps our training team busy with plenty of topics.”

Topics also come from relevant situations encountered at the hospital.

“For the next round-robin, the dental crew has already reached out to me to teach about dental emergencies,” McDermott said. “Tooth emergencies come up, we want to train sailors what to do about them.”

Navy Medicine’s mission is to serve as a Maritime Medical Force ensuring its healthcare professionals are trained and prepared to support the fleet by caring for the health of fellow service members in any environment to keep them in the fight.

“These initiatives contribute to a culture of excellence, where U.S. Navy medical personnel are well-prepared to handle any challenges that may arise during their deployments or assignments,” said Capt. Richard Zeber, hospital director and commanding officer of USNMRTC, Guantanamo Bay.

“As these dedicated Sailors continue to sharpen their skills through initiatives like quarterly round-robin training, the hospital stands poised to provide excellent care to our community,” Zeber said.

Source: United States Navy (Medical)

SAN DIEGO – Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Military Manpower and Personnel Ms. Lisa Truesdale visited Naval Medical Center San Diego, Feb. 14, to meet with staff who manage and support the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) process at the medical center.

Truesdale is responsible for establishment and oversight of policies related to health care, including IDES, within the Navy and Marine Corps.

During the first part of her visit, Truesdale met with IDES subject matter experts and both Rear Adm. Guido Valdes, Commander, Naval Medical Forces Pacific, and Director of the Defense Health Network Pacific Rim (DHNPR), and Capt. Elizabeth Adriano, director of Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) and commanding officer of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command San Diego.

Adriano, along with Cmdr. Nelly Rice, director for Warrior Transition, Lt. Col. Mitchell Guard, Wounded Warrior Battalion West (WWBn-W) commanding officer, and Capt. Michael Swanson, medical officer for WWBn-W, provided insight into the IDES process, while also addressing challenges and best practices.

Among the best practices are the “job fairs” hosted by Rice’s team. They provide service members on limited duty (LIMDU) and going through the IDES process an opportunity to match their skills with areas around the medical center that could use the extra hands.

According to Adriano, when service members come to NMCSD on LIMDU, they are “separated not only from their biological family, but also from their Navy family. They’re separated from their purpose, their job, their crew.”

While the main reason these service members are at the medical center is to get better and get back in the fight, by finding ways to keep them gainfully employed, the NMCSD team is giving them a purpose, which helps their morale and overall well-being, Adriano explained.

The command is also working to make the IDES process as efficient as possible by leveraging electronic systems to help move things along and standardize the process across the entire command, said Adriano.

“This is such a huge system with so much variance,” said Valdes. “We have done some good things and put in a lot of work, but there are so many steps in the process. To get our Sailors back to sea and our Marines back in the fight, we have to look at our process and understand where we can decrease the variances.”

Truesdale also visited the medical boards department where she thanked all the Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officers (PEBLO) for their dedication and all they do to guide service members through the IDES process.

“I feel very privileged to have such a good team,” said Rice. “We have a lot of corporate knowledge here and they’re hard workers. I appreciate all they do.”

The next stop was to meet with staff at WWBn-W, which has a detachment at the medical center. Truesdale learned more about how the battalion supports their Marines through the IDES process and how being co-located at NMCSD puts medical expertise within easy reach. The battalion is structured around a recovery care team that includes recovery care coordinators, nurse managers, athletic trainers and coaches, and leadership who all come together in support of their Marines.

At the end of the visit, Truesdale asked what the team wanted her to know. “I’m going to host an IDES summit next week and it’s meant to purposefully figure out where we’re at, what we want to get after, what’s already going well, where we need to focus differently. We’re bringing a lot of people together to solve things.”

Before departing, Truesdale told the team, “You’ve given me a lot of things to think about when I fly home.”

Naval Medical Forces Pacific (NMFP) is Navy Medicine’s regional command in the Western Pacific. NMFP provides care to more than 675,000 beneficiaries comprised of active duty personnel, retirees, and their family members. The regional headquarters is located at Naval Base San Diego, with Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Commands (NMRTC) throughout the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, Japan, and Guam.

Defense Health Network Pacific Rim (DHNPR) leads the Defense Health Agency’s (DHA) network of nine medical treatment facilities (MTF) on the West Coast and Pacific Rim. DHNPR is an integrated, adaptive, and capable network of hospitals and clinics, that deliver unparalleled health care to our active duty military, retirees, and their families.

The mission of Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD)/Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command San Diego (NMRTCSD) is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high quality health care services, and shape the future of military medicine through education, training, and research. NMCSD/NMRTCSD employs more than 5,000 active-duty military personnel, civilians and contractors in southern California to provide patients with world-class care anytime, anywhere.

Source: United States Navy (Medical)

On Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, Secretary of the Navy Carlos del Toro, Rear Adm. Darin Via, the Navy Surgeon General, Governor of Maryland Wes Moore, Mrs. Dawn Moore, the first lady of Maryland and Capt. Melissa Austin, Commanding Officer, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, took part in a dedication ceremony to celebrate the “Bethesda” name as the new class of expeditionary medical ship.

It is a name that has carried tremendous weight and symbolism since 1942.

From its years as the National Naval Medical Center and the “Flagship of Navy Medicine” to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center-era—Bethesda has been a place of healing, and where military warriors, their families and even world leaders come for the finest in military care.

Bethesda has been Navy Medicine’s industrial base helping to ensure we have trained, confident and mission-ready personnel for the fleet and Marine force.

And it is a place where so many individuals who have chosen a life of service have dedicated themselves to the greater cause.

In his remarks at the dedication event, Secretary del Toro commended the men and women who served at Bethesda through the years and, also, made reference to an individual who played a foundational part in the medical center’s story—President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Without a doubt, the story of Bethesda could not be told without mention of our 32nd president, a man who put the “president” in Bethesda’s most famous moniker, “The President’s Hospital.” Few individuals have had a bigger impact on the medical center’s story—from its design to its location—than Roosevelt.

In Aug.1937, not long after Congress authorized a new home for the Naval Medical Center Washington, D.C., Roosevelt became personally invested in the project. And this would not have been a surprise to anyone who knew him. The former Assistant Secretary of the Navy’s passion for the sea service was perhaps only rivaled by that of his distant relative Theodore Roosevelt. This love for the Navy was reflected in his precious collections of Navy ship models, and rare antique prints depicting the US Navy and its early heroes. During his tenure as president, he often called upon naval officers, including Navy physicians, as confidants, and when referring to the “blue and gold,” it was always, “my Navy.”

The president also viewed himself as an amateur architect and during his 12 years in office, Roosevelt influenced the location and appearance of many federal buildings and monuments including the Pentagon and the Jefferson Memorial.

Between 1937 and 1938, Roosevelt along with the Rear Adm. Perceval Rossiter, the 18th Navy Surgeon General—and sometimes with the Senate and House chairmen of the Naval Affairs Committees Senator David Walsh of Massachusetts and Rep. Carl Vinson of Georgia—scouted some 80 prospective sites in the D.C. metro area for the new naval medical center. It was on the afternoon of July 5, 1938, just a mile from what was still the “village” of Bethesda, Maryland, and across Wisconsin Avenue from the construction site for the future National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Center, that Roosevelt found the new home for the medical center.

“We will build it here,” said President Roosevelt while leaning over the side of his automobile and striking the ground with his walking cane near a cabbage patch. Despite many miles, detours and discussions, Roosevelt was sold on a particular landmark—a spring and springhouse located in a gully that reminded him of the biblical pool of Bethesda. Like his beloved Warm Springs retreat, the new medical center in Bethesda would be a place of healing.

Even before selecting the site, Roosevelt took an interest in its design. As early as October 1936, while on a reelection tour stop in Lincoln, Nebraska, Roosevelt became enamored with the state capital building. The capital building’s tower stood 400 feet which Roosevelt noted as a “great and worthy structure. . .[that] all the people of America . . .ought to come and see.” On Dec. 13, 1937, Roosevelt sketched out his designs for the new medical center, more than a little inspired by the Nebraska state capital.

Roosevelt championed his design plans and likened his proposed medical center tower to a “high church tower in the English countryside.” In a letter to his uncle Frederic Delano, of the National Park Planning Board (the approving authority for the design and location of the medical center), he wrote: “The tower is of such great beauty of design that it will be a landmark for generations to come, in what will for generations to come remain a wooded area even if suburbs extend as far out as that. . .I sometimes think of the English countryside.”

Roosevelt’s sketches were turned over to the Navy Bureau of Yards and Docks (the forerunner to today’s Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command) who engaged French-born American architect Paul Cret to develop plans with their design team led by Frederick W. Southworth. President Roosevelt would have been familiar with both individuals.

The French-born Cret was a world-renowned architect whose designs included the Benjamin Franklin Bridge and Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, and the Folger Library in Washington, D.C. His Eternal Light Peace Memorial at Gettysburg Battlefield was even dedicated by Roosevelt in 1938.

Southworth was a project manager with the Bureau of Yards and Docks specializing in naval hospital design. In 1920, he was heavily involved in designing the original Naval Hospital San Diego when Roosevelt was still Assistant Secretary of the Navy; and later designed the art-deco Naval Hospital Philadelphia that opened in 1935.

The final Cret-Southworth design greatly expanded and refined Roosevelt’s drawings into a 20-story tower “rising above a series of interconnecting three- and four-story pavilions.” The tower’s floors were to be in the shape of a Geneva Cross with the greatest length being approximately 106 feet.

Roosevelt’s other recommendations for the medical center extended to the surrounding landscape, some of which were ultimately adopted. These included the installation of an “old English sheep fence,” a flagpole terrace, a semicircular entrance drive, extensive tree planting (including trees taken from the land where the National Airport was constructed), and a recreational lake (later named after Rear Adm. L.O. Stone, a commanding officer of Bethesda).

Construction on the new center began on June 29, 1939. On Nov. 11, 1940, Roosevelt laid the cornerstone and returned to dedicate it on Aug. 31, 1942—the hundredth anniversary of the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), the administrative headquarters of the Navy Medical Department.

Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945. Within a matter of weeks, Congress presented a bill proposing the name of the medical center be changed to “Franklin D. Roosevelt Naval Medical Center.” Despite support from the Navy and the Navy Medical Department, it was ultimately decided that the best tribute to Roosevelt was to keep the name of the chosen by him, the: “National Naval Medical Center.”

Regardless, what it is known as today, this national medical center remains a special monument to what truly mattered to Roosevelt and the real reason he became so involved in this project—to establish a place of healing.

As he proclaimed in his dedication address: “Let this hospital . . .stand, for all men to see throughout all the years, as a monument to our determination to work and to fight until the time comes when the human race shall have that true health in body and mind and spirit which can be realized only in a climate of equity and faith.”

Sources:

Bowen, E.C. (1984) Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland (1939-1984). Naval Medical Command, National Capital Region. Bethesda, Maryland.

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (u.p. 1946). “The National Naval Medical Center: Early History and Establishment.” Administrative History of the U.S. Medical Department in World War II.

Galloway, C.B. (18 September 1964). “A Report on the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland.” U.S. Navy Medical News Letter, 44(6).

Johnson, L.W. (4 October 1950.) “The Navy Builds a Medical Center.” The Military Surgeon, 107(4).

Schmidt, R.P. (Winter 2009.) “A Tower in Nebraska: How FDR Found Inspiration for the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.” Prologue Magazine, 41(4).

Notes:

President Roosevelt was honored by the Navy as a namesake of the Midway-class aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42) (1945-1977) and the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer Roosevelt (DDG-80) (Commissioned in 2000).

Source: United States Navy (Medical)

As if the annual cold and flu season isn’t taking the breath away of many across the U.S., there’s another highly contagious respiratory virus out there dotting the landscape.

Once considered eradicated, measles is now escalating.

Like the public health experts at the national, state, and local levels, the public health and preventive medicine providers from Naval Hospital Bremerton are now following the activity of the measles virus since outbreaks in nearby southwest Washington earlier in this respiratory virus season.

There’s been approximately two dozen cases and several clusters of measles confirmed within the U.S. from early December 2023 through late January 2024 prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to alert healthcare providers across the nation. Last year in the U.S, there was a total of 58 measles reported, including several in Oregon and Washington.

“Measles is a significant disease caused by a respiratory virus and is highly contagious to unvaccinated and even some under-vaccinated people, especially younger children. While declared eradicated in 2000 in the U.S., outbreaks still occur most often due to a combination of infected travelers coming to the U.S. and subsequent contact with unvaccinated U.S. citizens, primarily children. Although most patients eventually make a full recovery, one in 1,000 will suffer permanent complications such as deafness, learning disabilities, and rarely, death. It requires a concerted effort on the part of the medical community and the public at large to minimize the impact,” said Dr. Dan Frederick, NHB population health officer.

The CDC notes that those who are primarily impacted by the preventable virus are children and adolescents who had not been vaccinated with the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine.

As was the case in 2019 before the pandemic, Washington state has had two outbreaks of measles and 90 cases total so far this season. The majority of cases, then as now, were in southwest Washington, just a few hours south of the third largest Navy fleet concentration and a host of military families.

“Vaccinations of our pediatric patients is the most important and successful prevention step we can take. We encourage parents to bring their child to our Immunization Clinic to receive the MMR vaccine which provides a very high 93 percent protection with just the first dose,” explained Cmdr. Brian Legendre, NHB Preventive Medicine Officer, citing that per CDC guidelines, the first dose is normally given between 12 and 15 months of age, with the second and final dose given between the ages of four and six that raises the protection rate up to 97 percent.

Children 6-11 months who are traveling internationally can receive a dose of MMR before travel. They will still need a two-dose series after 12 months of age.

NHB Immunization Clinic can provide MMR vaccination – as well as other vaccines – on a walk-in basis, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“Parents should know, check and review their child’s measles vaccination status. The vaccine is usually given as MMR or MMRV – measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella,” added Legendre. “To ensure a child has completed the two dose series, parents should check either their children’s home immunization records, or go online via the MHS GENESIS patient portal to review their vaccines or contact their primary care provider for assistance if they are unable to find the documentation.”

To keep the highly contagious virus at bay, Cmdr. Carolyn Ellison, NHB’s Director of Public Health emphasizes that being informed and not alarmed is key to understanding that measles is a vaccine-preventable infection.

“Patients, community institutions such as day care centers, and even our own medical community need a refresher since measles outbreaks have been relatively uncommon since 2000,” Ellison remarked. “There has been a resurgence of measles across the country most likely related to a decrease in the overall public vaccination rate to below the critical ‘herd’ immunity of 95 percent. Herd immunity is where even unvaccinated children are reasonably well-protected by all the vaccinated people around them.”

“Just as with any public health related matters, it is paramount for our military health personnel to be working closely with our local public health partners. Providing a consistent and unified message strengthens the confidence that our patients should have with their medical support systems. It is typical in situations like this for county, state, federal public health officials as subject matter experts to take the lead for the medical community response. We do all that we can to support that effort,” stated Frederick.

What are the signs or symptoms of measles to look for?

A child can develop a high fever with red, watery eyes, a cough and runny nose, followed in three to five days with a rash that starts in the face and spreads down the body. It can lead to seizures, ear infections, diarrhea and pneumonia.

“If this happens, the first immediate step for any parent is to call your primary care physician. If a parent decides to head to the nearest ER or our Urgent Care Clinic, be sure that the infected child is wearing a mask before entering any medical facility for evaluation. That will help lessen putting other people at risk for becoming infected,” said Legendre.

He also stressed that if anyone thinks their child may have been exposed to measles, call their primary care provider or the 24/7 hotline for the Defense Health Agency Immunization Healthcare Division at 1-877-GET-VACC (1-877-438-8222) or DSN at 761-4245, Option 1 for live clinical consultation. Calls are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by licensed healthcare providers with expertise in immunization issues to assist in answering patient and provider inquiries.

Source: United States Navy (Medical)

With cardiovascular disease being the number one killer for women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Naval Medical Center San Diego’s (NMCSD) Cardiology Department is wearing red in observance of National Wear Red Day.

“With cardiovascular disease being the number one cause for morbidity and mortality in the U.S., it is important for NMCSD to take advantage of every opportunity to raise awareness,” said Cmdr. Cicely Dye, NMCSD Cardiology department head and staff electrophysiologist. “This is not only a professional crusade for me, but a personal one as well as I want nothing more than to get this message out.”

Dye, a Chicago, Ill., native, is also a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who conducted her full spectrum of medical training at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“I was touched by the medical care that was being given at Walter Reed and wanted to devote my military service to serving the medical needs of active military members as well as their families and retirees,” expresses Dye.  “I decided to do cardiology because I wanted to do a procedural specialty but still have a longstanding close relationship with my patients.  I sub-specialized to electrophysiologiy because while working as cardiology staff at [Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune], I realized that arrhythmias were very impactful to our active-duty population. Treating arrhythmias and ensuring that our military is ready to fight is most fulfilling to me.”

Dye is not alone at NMCSD. Cmdr. Luke Oakley, NMCSD interventional cardiologist shares a similar conviction when it comes to cardiovascular disease.

“I was driven to pursue a career in medicine – and in the military – out of a passion to understand how things work and a desire to help others,” said Oakley. “Success in this field requires a unique combination of knowledge, skill, and empathy. My earliest influences in medicine were my mother who was a nurse and my grandfather who was a physician in the Army during WWII.”

A native of Omaha, Neb., Oakley graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s of Engineering degree from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. He obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

“In college I studied Biomedical Engineering out of a desire to understand how things work, but quickly realized I missed the humanism of medicine,” stated Oakley. “Interventional Cardiology is a rapidly evolving field that leverages technological innovation to help patients live their best lives. It’s a field that balances all the things I love in medicine; compassion in helping patients along their journey to health, and advanced procedures which can save or improve their quality of life.”

To this end, NMCSD’s Cardiology Department offers rapid cardiac evaluation and treatment to improve the lives of our active-duty service members, beneficiaries, and family members.

“Patients who come here for their cardiovascular care have access to top trained cardiovascular specialists and subspecialists,” said Oakley. “Our only goal is to help our patients – the nation’s best – live full, healthy, and happy lives. So it is occasions like Wear Red Day that we use to get the message out. The other component of the message is to let everyone know just how proud and fortunate we are to serve at NMCSD.”

NMCSD continuously seeks professional civilian talent, not just limited to health care providers and administrative support. For anyone seeking a federal job, visit USAJobs at usajobs.gov – the Federal Government’s official employment site.

The mission of NMCSD is to prepare service members to deploy in support of operational forces, deliver high quality health care services, and shape the future of military medicine through education, training, and research. NMCSD employs more than 6,000 active-duty military personnel, civilians and contractors in southern California to provide patients with world-class care anytime, anywhere.

Source: United States Navy (Medical)

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON – (Feb. 13, 2024) – Black History Month marks a time to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to overcoming racial inequities and promoting opportunities for equal advancement within the Black community. It is also a time to honor the many contributions African-Americans have made to the Department of Defense (DoD) and the nation.

For Naval Medical Forces Support Command (NMFSC), Lt. Zainob Andu, a regional logistician and assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics, is a representation of the highly professional and diverse active-duty workforce within the Department of the Navy.

Born in Chicago, Andu enlisted in America’s Navy in 2001 as a hospital corpsman. While enlisted, she earned her bachelor’s degree at Wayland Baptist University in 2012 and in 2015 completed a Master of Business Administration from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

While assigned to NMFSC, Andu assists in streamlining business processes, strengthening communication between the command echelons, and educating/training personnel on the changes occurring in the logistics community.

“It is our mission to make life in logistics easy and to encourage personal growth and development,” said Andu, a Medical Service Corps officer. “Problem solving is what we do; the goal is always get the customer what they need.”

According to Andu, humility is a great strength to possess in the Navy.

“I have learned patience and understanding to say what you mean and mean what you say,” said Andu, who was commissioned through the Medical Service Corps In-service Procurement Program in 2017. “I can teach, but on the same token, I can learn.”

One of Andu’s personal goals while assigned to NMFSC is to make the selection list for lieutenant commander.

“I have been fortunate to encounter leaders who believed in me even when I doubted myself,” said Andu. “They encouraged me and ensured I was able to take the classes I needed to finish my degree, and I am truly grateful to them.”

Andu said that one of the best parts of being in the Navy is the travel.

“I have visited and lived in countries most people dream of,” said Andu, who met her Army husband while serving and birthed her son while stationed in Italy. “I have made an impact on a global scale as a leader of Sailors who have excelled in the military as well as civilians owning their own business to those working for Fortune 500 companies. Seeing them thrive in and out of the Navy is why I do what I do.”

Prior to assignment at NMFSC, Andu has served with the Marines with 2nd Marine Division to serving on the USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) and at hospitals and clinics in Hawaii and Italy.

“I meet people where they are and encourage, motivate and build them up,” said Andu. “I give my Sailors what they want and need and that is a chance…a chance to show what they can do, a chance to shine, a chance to be bold and unapologetic, a chance to be great.”

Possessing a diverse workforce is important to NMFSC as it acknowledges individual strengths of each Sailor, civilian and contractor, and the potential they bring to accomplishing the command’s mission.

NMFSC develops and delivers integrated education and training that produces operational medical experts to project Medical Power in support of Naval Superiority.