Photo By T. T. Parish | A multiservice contingent of military and Department of Defense civilian medical...... read more read more
Team members with the Defense Health Agency’s Operational Medical Systems Program Management Office (OPMED) got an up-close preview of the U.S. Navy’s latest expeditionary fast transport recently during a tour hosted by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia, Aug. 28, 2025.
Visiting the Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport USNS Cody (T-EPF 14) gave the OPMED team an opportunity to engage with joint service and Navy stakeholders to plan for future direct support of U.S. Navy expeditionary medical capabilities. The USNS Cody is one of a class of Navy vessels designed to provide high-speed, rapid transport of troops, equipment, and supplies.
The tour, which highlighted progress on ship retrofitting for the future embarkation of the U.S. Navy's Expeditionary Medical Unit (EMU) 1 aboard the USNS Cody, included service members and civilians from OPMED; the Expeditionary Missions Program Office within the Naval Sea Systems Command; U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; Naval Medical Forces Atlantic; and Naval Systems Engineering and Logistics Directorate. All are key stakeholders in the EMU program’s development.
According to MSC experts, the USNS Cody is being developed as a Role 2 facility – equipped to provide medical treatment, advanced trauma management, emergency surgery, and resuscitative care while afloat. The vessel is capable of operating in littoral, or coastal, regions with a hybrid crew of non-military and U.S. Navy medical providers. While deployed in expeditionary environments, EMUs provide critical patient holding, patient movement, and prolonged field care, tailored to the specific mission requirements of U.S. Navy theater commands.
The United States Indo-Pacific Command, or USINDOPACOM, is the unified combatant command responsible for the Indo-Pacific region, which covers more than 50% of the earth’s surface. Given the operational and strategic interest of the USINDOPACOM area of responsibility, the OPMED team is exploring new and future opportunities to support military medical providers in this vital region, according to U.S. Army Col. Owen L. Roberts, OPMED’s program manager.
“As the primary advanced medical developer for the joint service, we develop, acquire, field, and sustain medical technologies across program lifecycles,” said Roberts. “OPMED’s mission is to enhance Warfighter lethality and readiness, and that means ensuring our joint forces have the most effective medical solutions available, regardless of the environment. We are committed to supporting our partners in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in their mission of maintaining regional stability across the Indo-Pacific.”
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.09.2025 08:07 |
| Story ID: | 547619 |
| Location: | JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE LITTLE CREEK-FORT STORY, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 164 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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