Navy Surgeon General Commemorates Medical Corps 140th Birthday

By U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy Surgeon General sent a message to the Navy Medical Corps in honor of its birthday, March 3.

"Today we celebrate the 140th Birthday of our Medical Corps," said Vice Adm. Adam M. Robinson, Jr., Navy surgeon general and chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. "From the countless humanitarian relief and disaster response missions, to the larger role of expeditionary care around the world, the Medical Corps is integral to Navy Medicine's ability to support our maritime strategy."

The Medical Corps was founded March 3, 1871, by the Forty-First Congress who enacted the Appropriations Act which established the Medical Corps with the mission of providing medical care to U.S. Navy personnel aboard ships and shore stations.

Today, nearly 5,000 active duty and Reserve Navy doctors serve with both the Navy and the Marine Corps throughout the world, providing exemplary care to Sailors, Marines and their families, from the garrison to the deck plates and to the battlefield.

According to Robinson, the Navy Medical Corps is broad and diverse. It is comprised of physicians who are practicing or training in dozens of medical and surgical specialties with more than 200 subspecialties. Navy doctors serve in complex and diverse positions including the White House, the Attending Physician's Office to Congress and as astronauts exploring the frontiers of space.

Robinson also said the Navy Medical Corps continues to break new ground in biomedical research, medical education and training, and patient care delivery at Navy clinics, hospitals, aboard Navy afloat platforms, and in combat theaters.

"It is the honor, courage, and commitment of these personnel we honor today," said Robinson. "We celebrate their spirit of service in everything they do to ensure our nation has a medically ready, fit, and fighting force. It is our responsibility to ensure that those who've served our nation, along with their families, can always count on Navy Medicine to help provide quality and compassionate patient and family-centered health care.