In order to navigate the upcoming tasks and challenges ahead, we must continue to maintain the highest state of medical readiness for our naval forces, while bringing more value and jointness to our operations. So, it should not come as a surprise that Navy Medicine has focused on three goals around these missions.

1. Readiness: Navy Medicine is in the readiness business. We have to be agile, forward-leaning and ready to deploy in support of the war-fighter and similarly we have to work to ensure that our war-fighters are equally prepared. All of our Navy Medicine personnel, in some capacity, lend themselves to the readiness mission. Whether an independent duty corpsman serving in a submarine, a flight surgeon serving our naval aviators, deployed medical staff or a Navy corpsman embedded with the Marines, they provide adaptable capabilities globally across the range of military operations in support of the national defense strategy.

2. Value: Navy Medicine will bring value to everything we do. We must focus as much or more on “health” as much as “healthcare,” meaning focusing on preventive medicine treatments such as tobacco-cessation programs or proper nutrition vs. waiting for the complications and diseases that arise from neglecting these issues. We not only improve readiness and quality of life but also get more “bang for our buck,” because healthier beneficiaries drive down overall costs associated with care. During the next year, we are looking to build on initial successes with healthcare models such as Medical Home Port and improve the standardization of care that will improve the patient experience and create a more efficient, responsive care structure.

3. Jointness: There are increasingly more and more opportunities for Navy Medicine to work together with our sister services, the Department of Veterans Affairs and academic partners. Whether we work together in a research lab to develop a new vaccine or on a mission to MEDEVAC a patient off the battlefield, joint operations are a huge part of our future in the military, and we all need to embrace these opportunities to learn from one another and leverage best practices from every source. We will build on each other’s strengths, learn other cultures and preserve those qualities, traditions and skill sets that are unique to Navy Medicine.

SAN DIEGO - Hospitalman Vincent Juliano, right, a student in the advanced dental assistant program, receives instruction from Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jontrell Chambers, Oct. 30. The U.S. Navy is reliable, flexible, and ready to respond worldwide on, above, and below the sea. (U.S. Navy Photo by Bruce Cummins)