Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Heather Ferrugi | Navy Capt. Afshin Afarin, center, took command of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training...... read more read more
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Jayna Legg, 224-610-3132 or mailto:Jayna.legg@va.gov
June 12, 2026
__Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Great Lakes changes command June 12 __
Navy Capt. Afshin Afarin assumes command of NMRTC Great Lakes, located at Lovell Federal Health Care Center, from Capt. Chad Roe
NORTH CHICAGO, Ill. -- Navy Medical Corps Capt. Afshin Afarin assumed command of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Great Lakes June 12, in a ceremony at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, relieving Navy Medical Service Corps Capt. Chad Roe.
NMRTC Great Lakes is the command located at Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, Ill. Like Roe before him, Afarin also takes on the role of deputy director of Lovell FHCC, which supports both the Department of War and Department of Veterans Affairs by providing health care to Veterans, Navy recruits and other military service members, and their dependents, in southeast Wisconsin and northeast Illinois.
During his time as commanding officer of NMRTC Great Lakes, in response to an unprecedented surge in the Navy recruiting, Roe ensured approximately 80,000 Navy recruits were medically fit for their first fleet assignments after graduating from the Navy’s only “boot camp” at Recruit Training Command, Naval Station Great Lakes. Additionally, Roe ensured approximately 12,000 Navy student Sailors at Naval Station Great Lakes were ready for global operations. Both achievements were reflected on Roe’s Legion of Merit (gold star in lieu of third award) citation. The award was presented by Deputy Navy Surgeon General Rear Admiral Matthew Case, presiding officer.
Also under Roe’s leadership, the successful training and operational deployment of Navy Expeditionary Resuscitative Surgical System Teams led to the expansion of forward-deployable medical trauma teams, ready for full global deployment.
Roe, whose retirement ceremony took place immediately after the change of command, not only thanked the NMRTC GL and Lovell FHCC team, and his family, but honored the legacy of Gemini and Apollo astronaut and Navy Captain James A. Lovell, the facility’s namesake, who died in August of 2025. Roe presented flowers to Lovell’s daughter Susan Lovell, who was in attendance, thanking her for sharing her famous father with the world.
Roe at times choked up, noting “no officer stands alone at the podium,” and saying it was overwhelming to see so many family members, friends and teammates in the audience. He added he always considered a Navy command as something “I get to do. This is an opportunity to serve,” Roe said. “We get the privilege to lead. It’s a mission much bigger than yourself.”
At Lovell FHCC, Roe said, “We get to be part of something very unique, working with the Department of Veterans Affairs.” He thanked Lovell FHCC Director Dr. Robert Buckley, and the VA team members who work alongside active duty Navy personnel at the nation’s only fully integrated Department of War and VA federal health care center.
Afarin is a native of Fort Wayne, Ind. and is a board-certified radiologist. He served as deputy commanding officer, Tripler Army Medical Center and executive officer of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Lemoore, and deputy director, Naval Health Clinic Lemore. Other assignments included leadership roles at Naval Health Clinic Annapolis and Naval Hospital Bremerton. He deployed in 2005-2006 with the Army as an individual augmentee in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Farah, Afghanistan. His first duty station was with the Marines at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan.
During his remarks, Afarin said in the two weeks he’s been at NMRTC GL and Lovell FHCC he’s heard the same heartfelt stories from Sailors and civilian staff of what it means to “get recruits across the finish line healthy. I’m looking forward to joining this outstanding team. Every role matters, and every team member contributes,” he said.
Roe is retiring from the active duty Navy after 30 years of service and 12 duty stations. After receiving his undergraduate and master’s degrees and working a short time in the private sector, he joined the Navy in 1996 and was commissioned in the Medical Service Corps. Before his NMRTC GL command, he served as Commanding Officer, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Beaufort, South Carolina and as the Director, Naval Hospital Beaufort. He held many other top leadership jobs, including at Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan; Naval Branch Health Clinic Kings Bay, Ga; Submarine Base New London at Naval Branch Health Clinic Groton, Conn.; NMRTC Charleston, and NMRTC Jacksonville, where, in March 2020, he deployed supporting the Coronavirus Disease 2019 response.
Roe thanked his wife, Pam, for anchoring his 30-year career and “keeping a home full of love no matter where,” and children Riley and Evan, “my absolute proudest achievement.”
The change of command was livestreamed on the Lovell FHCC Facebook page, where it will be available for viewing: https://www.facebook.com/lovellfhcc.
About Lovell FHCC: Lovell FHCC is the nation’s only fully integrated Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of War health care facility. Lovell FHCC serves Veterans, military retirees, Navy recruits and other service members, and their families, at its main hospital in North Chicago, Ill. Veterans also are cared for at Lovell FHCC outpatient clinics in McHenry and Evanston, Ill., and Kenosha, Wis. Lovell FHCC, with Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Great Lakes, operates USS Red Rover, USS Osborne and USS Tranquillity Recruit Training Command clinics, and Fisher Clinic at Naval Station Great Lakes.
About NMRTC Great Lakes: When NMRTC Great Lakes was established in 2019, the resources of Lovell FHCC that provide medical care and support for Department of War beneficiaries were aligned under the management oversight of the Defense Health Agency. Navy Medicine retains principal responsibility for operational readiness of the Navy and Marine Corps. To complement the transition, Navy Medicine established the co-located NMRTC Great Lakes at Lovell FHCC.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2026 17:08 |
| Story ID: | 567643 |
| Location: | NORTH CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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