Surgeon General and guest visits EMF-K

Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait (EMF-K) hosted the Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Ms. Ellen Embrey, the Surgeon General of the Navy, Vice Admiral Adam M. Robinson, the Surgeon to the Joint Chiefs of Staff Rear Admiral (Upper Half) David Smith, and the Force Master Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, HMCM Laura Martinez. This trip was the end point to their swing through Afghanistan to preside at the Transfer of Authority (TOA) of the NATO Level III hospital in Kandahar from the Canadians to the American Navy. RADM Smith noted it was a great ceremony and watching the flag of the United States of America rise above the hospital was a truly inspiring moment.
Our guests were given a tour of EMFK and a brief on our mission and work to support the entire CENTCOM AOR. They were not only impressed with what we do here, but that we are able to send warriors forward to Afghanistan and other areas to support other missions. They noted that the demand for Navy medicine is increasing in Afghanistan, and that we will need to work on transitioning out of our current mission in Kuwait.
The VIP’s attended EMFK’s 234th Navy Birthday Ball, which was held as a pirate themed event. The master of ceremonies, His Lordship King Neptune (FTCS Almanza) coordinated the efforts of all the EMFK’s sailor associations into a highly successful and entertaining evening.
Surgeon Generals Call, and Force Master Chief Call were held, with many questions on the role of the Navy in Afghanistan, Joint Operations, Purple suited medical corps, Training and credentialing across the services, operations in other theaters, and many more. It was good to see that our leaders know our concerns and are actively working the issues.
Force Master Chief (FMF) Laura Martinez, had a chance to take time to talk to Sailors assigned to EMF-K.
“I always take an opportunity to take time to visit with the Sailors. It is always good to come back through here.” She also stated, “everyone here is doing an outstanding job!”
Ms. Embrey was the featured speaker at a dinner attended by members of the Army and Air Force medical departments along with EMFK’s wardroom and Chief’s mess. She spoke about initiatives in the DoD to truly fix the electronic medical record, to improve information flow far forward, Tricare initiatives for the deployed population and how the military medical system is truly working well as a joint system, but will never be a “purple” system due to the differences in culture and operational needs between the services.
This visit was a great opportunity for EMFK to show off (by doing what they do every day), for the top leaders in military medicine, and for our warriors to learn what issues our top leaders are working on, and, what keeps them up at night. It was a highly productive visit for all concerned.