The 38th surgeon general of the Navy and director of the Hospital Corps visited Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, Feb. 4.

The hospital was an initial stop for Vice Adm. C. Forrest Faison, who took command in December, and Force Master Chief (FMF/SW/AW) Terry Prince.

The team wanted to see what is happening across Navy Medicine, while also sharing their vision for the future -- why Navy Medicine is here, technology and education.

"When I look across Navy Medicine and I look at the partnerships, the things that need to occur to make a vibrant hospital, Camp Lejeune is doing a great job. I wanted to see what was working well," Faison said. "I also wanted to send a message of, 'we are here for the Marines.'"

Faison added that he wants service members to shift the way they see their health care from costs and limitations to why the Navy is in the business of medicine in the first place.

"We are here taking care of our family," he said. "No civilian health care sheds blood for their patients. No civilian health care will go into harm's way to take care of their patients. But we do that. We do that because we are family. We take care of them."

During an all-hands call, Faison talked about the way ahead and the need to be aware of an ever-changing medical presence. After taking a poll, he pointed out the millennials who are changing the way the Navy looks at medicine. He explained that a majority of the service is made up of members born after 1986 and it is rare to find one who doesn't own a smartphone; explaining that those devices can now perform the function of the stethoscope and much more.

"As we go forward, the volume of medical knowledge is doubling every two years," said Faison when addressing hospital staff. "The days are gone where you can be static. What you learn is critical to our future. Maintaining robust training programs ensures that the people we send forward are well-trained and well-prepared to save lives."

With this training in mind, Faison addressed military retirees, noting that the armed forces are coming out of the nation's longest war with unprecedented survival rate of 97 percent compared to 86.5 percent for Vietnam veterans.

"The reason they are alive today is because of the amazing skills of the corpsmen and doctors forward deployed; in any other war, these warriors would have died," said Faison when speaking to military retirees, who added the reason the doctors and corpsmen are well-trained is because of the clinical experience they got when they were working at the hospitals. "They get that when you allow us the privilege of caring for you. You allow my corpsmen, nurses and doctors the opportunity to get the experience they need to save lives on the battlefield."

One retiree spouse was very interested in learning about the education needed for service members.

"You don't want the first time a corpsman sees difficult medical issues to be on the battlefield," said Louis Greggs, wife of a retired Marine. "We need to keep our corpsmen educated and ready."

Not all of the retirees were initially interested in coming to the naval hospital for their care.

"There was reluctance on mine and my wife's part. I said, 'no, I don't want to do it,'" said Bill Joseph, the director of the Joseph "Randy" Reichler Reception Center. "I want to tell you it has been outstanding; the service, my provider, the staff, everything has been outstanding."

This is the first time since taking command that Faison has toured the center, which tends to the medical needs of 46,000 active duty, retirees and their dependents. During his visit, Faison took time to speak and listen to staff and beneficiaries alike. He explained that it is difficult to truly gauge what is happening across the Navy from Washington. While he was here to talk to the staff, he garnered a lot from them also.

"I learned a lot; they hit on some very significant issues," said Faison, who explained he will take all of the questions and comments back to be looked at more closely.

One area that seemed to be shared by providers, active duty and retirees was mental health. Faison explained it is a continuous effort to get rid of the stigma that comes with issues that are not as easily understood; however it is everyone's responsibility.

"We have to ensure that leadership is modeling the right behavior and that junior service members know it is OK to ask for help."

The desire to help has kept the surgeon general around the Navy for 36 years.

"I stuck around because you get to help people and make a difference in their lives," he said to a group of junior Sailors. "You never have to charge them money. You never have to worry about how sick they can afford to be. The only thing you have to worry about is doing what is best for your patients; doing what is best for your shipmates and what's best for those around you. Thank you so very much for being on our team; being on our team now and more importantly for the difference you have made and will make in the lives of those around you who may never say thank you."

For more news from Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, visit http://www.navy.mil/.