Thirty enlisted Sailors and Soldiers graduated from the Army Practical Nurse Course as 68C Class 14-004 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), March 27.

The 26 Soldiers and four Sailors comprised the first joint service class for the course, and they are now able to function as competent practical nurses, during peacetime and mobilization.

The group completed the requirements of a year-long course that began March 3, 2014, at the Academy of Health Sciences, U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. They continued with rigorous clinical training at both Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and WRNMMC, where they had to pass a national licensure examination before graduating.

Students in the newly-revised class, considered a pilot program, included Soldiers straight from basic training as well as Sailors - a first for the LPN course. WRNMMC boasts a 97 percent first-time pass rate for the National Council Licensure Examination Practical Nurse (NCLEX-PN), 12 percent better than the national average.

"This is a good place to learn and grow," WRNMMC Director Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Jeffrey B. Clark told students during a welcoming ceremony at WRNMMC on June 5, 2014. At the group's graduation ceremony in March, he told them, "This is the first anywhere, at any time."

The general called the graduation a historical moment for Navy medicine, Army medicine and the Military Health System. "We are beyond 'joint-ness' but oneness," he said, quoting WRNMMC Command Master Chief Tyrone Willis, who was joined by nursing and enlisted leaders from the Defense Health Agency, Fort Sam Houston and WRNMMC at the ceremony. Navy Bureau of Medicine Force Master Chief Sherman Boss served as keynote speaker.

"You don't get this [every day] - how they really came together," said Army Lt. Col. Christine Ludwig, director of the Practical Nurse Course.

Ludwig attributed the Soldiers' and Sailors' cohesiveness to the uniqueness of having corpsmen and Soldiers learning together with different service cultures and different personalities, "as well as really unique Soldiers, straight from basic training; this is their first time."

"They didn't know it all," Ludwig said. "They didn't come in with a way of doing things. They learned from others; they let others show them how to do it."

More than 150 well-wishers, most family members of the graduates, gathered in the Memorial Auditorium for the graduation. Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Paola Baldizon, one of the graduates, said family played an important role in their success. Successfully completing 20 grueling exams, 11 weeks of study and hundreds of hours in training during the comprehensive, fast-paced course - all while balancing family-life - was a challenge, Baldizon explained.

"Every student rose to the occasion due to the support of their families and staff," the Soldier said.

Army Spc. Jason Mortham, one of six course graduates to make the dean's list, agreed with his classmate. "I have a wife, a son, and a baby on the way," he said. "They were very supportive. It took a lot of sacrifice on both ends but we made it work."

The new LPN serving at WRNMMC was a medic at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, before he began the course. Staying here as an LPN and with four years in the Army, Mortham hopes to earn a commission and join the Army Nurse Corps.

Navy Hospitalman (HN) Nicole Parent, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class (HM3) Jason Castillo and HM3 Michael Talmadge were three of the four Sailors who also graduated March 27. They each indicated one of the best parts of the course was working with Soldiers, learning and teaching Army and Navy culture.

"So what usually takes two years to complete on the civilian side, we did in 13 months. Yes, it was a challenge - a challenge we overcame, together," Baldizon said. "I think we were all particularly lucky to be in this class. We came in as 30 different strangers, and we've become a wonderful family."

For more news from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, visit www.navy.mil/.