Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Jason Afable | U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Chief Petty Officer Antares Zongo, material management...... read more read more
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SAN DIEGO – U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Chief Petty Officer Antares Zongo, leading chief petty officer of the material management equipment division at Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), was named Defense Health Network Pacific Rim’s Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year for fiscal year 2025. The recognition came as part of the Defense Health Agency’s annual Medical Logistics Awards.
Medical logistics, referred to as MEDLOG, is the process of providing goods, services, and materials to the right place at the right time, at the right price, while following the right rules, according to Zongo.
“MEDLOG is critical because we provide everything that everyone else needs to do their work,” said Zongo. “We provide the supplies for the clinicians and corpsmen to take care of patients, for facilities to maintain the building. We touch every department, every work center in what we do, from materials to goods, services, and everything in between.”
These awards shine a spotlight on a part of the Military Health System that is often overlooked, but that is essential to America’s warfighting mission.
“ Medical readiness is combat readiness,” said Zongo. “We have to be healthy and ready for the fight to support the mission the best we can. When a Marine gets injured, they count on the corpsman to treat them and get them back in the fight, and that corpsman needs to count on me to provide them with the equipment, the supplies, and everything else they need to take care of that Marine. Everyone needs to do their part.”
Achieving excellence in supply chain management is no small feat, especially at a military treatment facility like NMCSD–a 137-bed multi-specialty Graduate Medical Education teaching hospital and research facility with a cutting-edge simulation and bioskills center, a tele-critical care center, and an ambulatory complex. NMCSD, colloquially known as Balboa, supports beneficiaries across Southern California and spans 12 primary clinics, 7 dental clinics, and the Navy’s largest advanced dental laboratory.
“This is the most challenging command with the most complex logistics system that I’ve seen by far,” said Zongo. “Our geographical footprint is so big and the complexity of care is huge. With the complex cases that we handle at this facility, we have to be able to provide more complex equipment, more complex maintenance for that equipment, more complex supplies, niche services, and everything else in between. The sheer size and volume makes it really difficult.”
For Zongo, mission success in such demanding conditions comes down to the hard work and dedication of the Sailors he leads and the leaders he serves alongside.
“This award is a testament to the quality of the team that I have,” he said. “Despite operational challenges , we have been able to maintain complex medical equipment to ensure our providers can safely care for high-acuity patients and get them in and out of doors safely, and I'm really proud of that. We have a great warehouse team, a great material operations team that's able to flex around dynamic supply chain demands to be able to still provide the clinicians with all the goods and services they need. The leadership is great. The Sailors are phenomenal. We are doing great things, we know our part of the mission and we are eager to accomplish it, and that's a blessing”
Awards such as this highlight the indispensable contributions of Chief Zongo and the NMCSD MEDLOG team, whose work provides the foundation for every successful medical outcome at the command. While their efforts often remain behind the scenes, their impact is felt in every ward and operating room. “The team’s primary objective is to create an environment of total reliability. By masterfully managing the intricate challenges and obstacles of the procurement process, we ensure that doctors and corpsmen have the precise tools they need exactly when they need them. This seamless support allows medical professionals to show up every day with the absolute certainty that their equipment and supplies will perform as expected, sustaining the high standard of care required for the mission.”
Although he is quick to deflect credit to his team, Zongo said he considers it an honor to be recognized for his individual achievement and takes pride in his contribution to the command.
“I think of Balboa as the crown jewel of Navy Medicine,” he said. “The level of case complexity, the volume of patients in such a dense population of Sailors and Marines–we have a huge impact throughout the region and for the Pacific fleet in general. The mission is great and what we do is great. Serving here has been a highlight of my career.”
NMCSD employs more than 5,500 active-duty military personnel, civilians, and contractors in Southern California to deliver exceptional care afloat and ashore.
| Date Taken: | 05.21.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.21.2026 15:14 |
| Story ID: | 565932 |
| Location: | CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 18 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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