The U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) awarded four Sailors with Independent Duty Corpsman (IDC) of the Year awards during the IDC Operational Medicine Symposium, June 13.

A panel of senior enlisted leadership selected Hospital Corpsman First Class Renee Hotchkiss as 2016 Surface IDC of the Year, Chief Hospital Corpsman Javier Cortesmorales as 2016 Shore IDC of the Year, Chief Hospital Corpsman Valentino Salazar as 2016 Submarine IDC of the Year, and Chief Hospital Corpsman Ryan Gilbert 2016 Expeditionary IDC of the Year.

"Winning this award is a testament not to just what I've done, but the opportunities that I have been given to succeed as an independent duty corpsman" said Salazar.

Rear Adm. Kenneth Iverson, commander, Navy Medicine East, presided over the ceremony as Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Lemuel Paalam and Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Frank Maccarelli, of the IDC program office, announced the awardees and retired Navy Medicine Force Master Chief Mark R. Weldon delivered remarks as the guest speaker.

"Independent duty corpsmen play an integral role in Navy Medicine's ability to keep the Navy and Marine Corps family ready, healthy and at work -- whether delivering lifesaving care on the battlefield or performing minor procedures below the sea," said Iverson. "Without what you do, the Navy would not be able to meet its mission."

Navy hospital corpsmen perform medical care every day throughout the fleet, but IDCs are trained beyond the average enlisted medical professional. Becoming an IDC requires an additional 12 months of training, where experienced corpsmen learn to function as the lone medical support when other medical personnel and facilities are not readily available.

The IDC Operational Medicine Symposium is an annual event that serves as opportunity for IDCs to engage with their leadership and peers to refresh their skills and gain hands-on knowledge to take back out into the fleet.

The Navy's Hospital Corps consists of more than 30,000 active-duty and reserve Navy hospital corpsmen who deploy with Sailors and Marines worldwide, in both wartime and peacetime. The rating is the largest, most professionally diverse and highly decorated enlisted corps in the Navy.

Navy Medicine is a global health care network of 63,000 personnel that provides health care support to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and their families and veterans, in high operational tempo environments, at expeditionary medical facilities, medical treatment facilities, hospitals, clinics, hospital ships and research units around the world.

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