NAVAL HEALTH CLINIC PATUXENT RIVER, Md.  –   Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Bruce Gillingham visited Naval Health Clinic Patuxent River on Jan. 31 for the first time in the clinic’s history.

Gillingham toured the clinic along with Director of the Hospital Corps, Force Master Chief Michael Roberts. They met with staff, discussed the future of Navy Medicine, and recognized the clinic’s important contributions to warfighter readiness, especially in support of Pax River’s naval aviation community.

Gillingham also emphasized his four priorities, the “Four P’s”: People, Platforms, Performance and Power. He added a fifth when motivating the clinic’s sailors to pursue their goals: perseverance.

During their visit to Pax River, Gillingham and Roberts also toured the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Human Systems Engineering labs and U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. At the labs they learned firsthand how NAWCAD is bridging aerospace medicine with engineering and acquisition to advance aircrew safety and performance. That was followed by meet-and-greets with flight doctors, engineers and pilots at the Test Pilot School who are working to improve aircrew gear for hearing, head and eye protection and more.

Brittany Dickerson, NAWCAD Public Affairs Officer, contributed to this report.