Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Shayla Hamilton | U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Force Master Chief Jerry Cantorna, director,...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas – U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) Force Master Chief Jerry Cantorna, director, U.S. Navy Hospital Corps, alongside deputy director, U.S. Navy Master Chief Hospital Corpsman Dante Cooley, visited Naval Medical Forces Development Command (NMFDC), Navy Medicine Training Support Command (NMTSC), and other Navy Medicine sites at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, June 1-3, 2026.
The visit marked Cantorna’s first visit to NMFDC in his new role as the 18th director of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps. In his opening remarks to command leadership, Cantorna emphasized the strategic choice he made in marking NMFDC as their very first stop, highlighting the critical role the command plays as the epicenter for all BUMED training.
“The future readiness of our Navy Medicine team begins in these classrooms and training labs,” said Cantorna. “Choosing San Antonio as our first stop was deliberate. We cannot project medical power across the globe without first understanding and supporting the foundational training happening right here.”
Among the topics discussed were manning, resources, facilities, plans and operations, along with the Navy Medicine Enterprise’s focus on delivering and sustaining ready, naval medical forces to the fleet.
The tour, hosted by each command’s respective senior enlisted leadership, also featured visits to the U.S. Navy student barracks, the Medical Education and Training Campus (METC), home to the U.S. Navy's largest entry-level training site, Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) San Antonio, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Unit San Antonio, and the Defense Medical Readiness Training Institute.
During the METC visit, the leaders toured both hospital corpsman "A" and "C" school courses to observe the foundational and advanced instruction pipelines.
“It was incredibly motivating for our students to have the opportunity to see the top enlisted leader of the Hospital Corps walking through their classrooms,” said Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Carlojelo Tarray, an instructor with the hospital corpsman basic course at the METC. “His presence here reinforces the importance of the life-saving skills they’re learning and reminds them of the critical role they are about to play in the fleet.”
During the NAMRU-San Antonio visit, the staff discussed the command’s role in combat casualty care, craniofacial and directed-energy research to improve survival, operational readiness, and the safety of the of Department of War personnel engaged in routine and expeditionary operations.
Over the course of the visit, Cantorna held all-hands calls with NMFDC and NMTSC staff members, where he provided both teams with an opportunity to ask questions related to the future of the Navy’s enlisted medical force, and his new, dual-hatted role as the BUMED force master chief and Hospital Corps director.
“My primary goal right now is to listen to the Sailors and understand their ground truth,” said Cantorna. “Hearing directly from the deckplate about the challenges and needs, gives me the exact insight I need to take back to headquarters. My job is to remove barriers so this team can continue force generating, training, and certifying, both now and in the future.”
NMFDC is the headquarters element designated within the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery as a direct subordinate to the Surgeon General of the Navy, charged with leading and managing all medical training, education, professional development, and instruction to produce highly trained and ready medical personnel.
Navy Medicine's 44,000+ talented and ready forces optimize health readiness, deliver quality healthcare, and provide global expeditionary medical support to warfighters.
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2026 10:17 |
| Story ID: | 566711 |
| Location: | FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 144 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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