After serving nearly three years as Navy Medicine West's (NMW) command master chief (CMC), Force Master Chief (FORCM) Hosea Smith, Jr., has left sunny San Diego for the bustling beltway of the National Capital Region.

Smith assumed his position as the Falls Church, Virginia-based U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) force master chief, March 24.

Upon assuming the dual-hatted role of command master chief (CMC) for Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) and NMW, in July 2013, Smith immediately took to ensuring the well-being, professional development, and readiness of the enlisted Sailors, mostly hospital corpsmen, throughout the region.

Smith's push for enlisted advancement training yielded a 33 percent increase in promotions among the petty officer ranks, resulting in more than 800 Sailors donning additional chevrons on their collars and sleeves at NMCSD.

Physical Fitness Assessment (PFA) success rates significantly increased, and more than 1,890 Sailors throughout NMW trained and deployed to support 55 combat, humanitarian and disaster relief operations around the globe, providing medical care to more than 66,000 patients.

US Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) awarded NMW with four consecutive Retention Excellence Awards for commitment to the growth and development of Sailors, and in 2016, the U.S Navy Shore Sailor of the Year would hail from Navy Medicine West.

"The leadership and mentorship he [Smith] provided, from the most junior enlisted to the Chiefs Mess, and beyond to the officers, made our organization more effective," said Rear Adm. Paul Pearigen, commander, Navy Medicine West and chief of the Navy Medical Corps. "We are fortunate that he will now take those abilities to the whole of Navy Medicine as force master chief."

NMW is the U.S. Navy's health care system in the Western Pacific, providing medical care to more than 675,000 beneficiaries across 10 naval hospitals, two dental battalions and 51 branch clinics located throughout the Western United States, Asia and the Pacific.

NMW also encompasses Navy Medicine's research and development laboratories, which are engaged in a broad spectrum of activity, from basic laboratory science and field studies in remote areas of the world, to operational environments in support of U.S. warfighters.

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For more news from Naval Medical Center San Diego, visit www.navy.mil/.