The United States Navy Nurse Corps was officially established by Congress in 1908; however, unofficially, women had been working as nurses aboard Navy ships and in Navy hospitals for nearly 100 years. The Corps was all-female until 1965.
The Dental Corps of the United States Navy consists of naval officers who have a doctorate in either dental surgery (DDS) or dental medicine (DMD) and who practice dentistry for Sailors and Marines to ensure optimal oral health.
Alene Bertha Duerk became the first female admiral in the U.S. Navy in 1972. She was also the director of the U.S. Navy Nurse Corps from 1970 to 1975. She is a 1974 recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award of Case Western Reserve University's Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing.
Albert Joseph Herberger was a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy, and the first United States Merchant Marine Academy graduate to attain the rank.
Rear Admiral Robert Dunham Reilly Jr. was a United States Navy Surface Warfare Flag Officer who retired from active duty in January 2010 after 34-plus years of military service. His last assignment was as the 24th commander of the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC).
Hispanic and Latino Admirals in the United States Navy can trace their tradition of naval military service to the Latino sailors, who have served in the Navy in every war and conflict since the American Revolution. Prior to the Civil War, the highest rank reached by a Latino-American in the Navy was commodore. Such was the case of Commodore Uriah Phillips Levy (1792–1862), a Sephardic Jew of Latin American descent and great grandson of Dr. Samuel Nunez, who served in the War of v. During the American Civil War, the government of the United States recognized that the rapid expanding Navy was in need of admirals therefore, Congress proceeded to authorize the appointment of nine officers the rank of rear admiral. On July 16, 1862, Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut became the first Hispanic-American to be appointed to the rank of rear admiral. Two years later (1864), Farragut became a vice admiral, and in 1866 the Navy's first full admiral. During World War I, Robert Lopez, the first Hispanic graduate of the United States Naval Academy, served with the rank of commodore in command of the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, and during World War II five Hispanics served with the ranks of rear admiral or above in either the European or Pacific Theaters of the war. As of April 2007, twenty-two Hispanic-Americans have reached the rank of admiral, and of this number thirteen were graduates of the USNA.
The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) is an agency of the United States Department of the Navy that manages health care activities for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. BUMED operates hospitals and other health care facilities as well as laboratories for biomedical research, and trains and manages the Navy's many staff corps related to medicine. Its headquarters is located at the Defense Health Headquarters in Fairfax County, Virginia. BUMED has 63,000 medical personnel and more than a million eligible beneficiaries.
Vice Admiral Nancy E. Brown is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy who most recently served as the Director, Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems, The Joint Staff. She was the principal advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on all C4 systems matters within the Department of Defense. Her service spanned 32 years. She retired in 2009.
Rear Admiral Christine M. Bruzek-Kohler was the 21st Director of the United States Navy Nurse Corps, and served as the Commander Naval Medical Center San Diego and Navy Medicine West from May 2009 to August 2010. She officially retired from the Navy in December 2010.
Nancy J. Lescavage is a retired American rear admiral who served as the 20th director of the Navy Nurse Corps and was the commander of Naval Medical Education and Training Command, Bethesda, Maryland.
Rear Admiral Kathleen Lousche Martin served as Deputy Surgeon General of the Navy/Vice Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery from October 2002 until her retirement in September 2005. She also held the position as the 19th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps from August 1998 to August 2001. She serves on the board of directors for Caliburn International, a military contracting conglomerate that also oversees operations of Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children.
Rear Admiral Joan Marie Engel held the position as the 18th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps from September 1994 to August 1998. She concurrently served as deputy commander for personnel management in the Health Sciences, Education and Training Command, and later as assistant chief for Education, Training and Personnel.
Rear Admiral Bonnie Burnham Potter was the first female physician in the Navy Medical Corps to be selected for flag rank. She served as the commanding officer of the National Naval Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland and Chief of the Navy Medical Corps.
Rear Admiral Carol Irene Baker Turner is a retired United States Navy officer who served as the first female chief of the United States Navy Dental Corps from 2003 to 2007. She also served as the commanding officer of the National Naval Dental Center at Bethesda, Maryland.
Rear Admiral Eleanor V. Valentin was the first female flag officer to serve as director of the United States Navy Medical Service Corps. She assumed command of Navy Medicine Support Command and assumed duties as the 16th director of the Medical Service Corps on 1 October 2009.
Marshall Edward Cusic Jr. is a retired rear admiral in the United States Navy Reserve who served as the deputy commander for total force integration, Navy Medicine Support Command, and chief of the Medical Reserve Corps, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.
Margaret A. Rykowski is a rear admiral in the United States Navy Reserve and serves as Deputy Fleet Surgeon, United States Fleet Forces Command and Deputy Director, United States Navy Nurse Corps, Reserve Component.
Raquel Cruz Bono is a retired vice admiral in the United States Navy, and the former director of the Defense Health Agency. She currently serves as Chief Health Officer for Viking Cruises and a Senior Fellow for Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.
Donald Lauren Custis was an American vice admiral in the United States Navy who served as Surgeon General of the United States Navy from 1973 to 1977.
Bruce Lindsley Gillingham is a retired United States Navy rear admiral and orthopedic surgeon who last served as the 39th surgeon general of the United States Navy from 2019 to 2023. As surgeon general, Gillingham was dual-hatted as the 43rd chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and was responsible to the United States Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations and director of the Defense Health Agency for all health and medical matters pertaining to the Navy and Marine Corps.
