SIGONELLA, Italy – At Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Sigonella, mission readiness begins long before a service member steps into the operating room or deploys forward. Behind every lifesaving procedure, every assessment, and every code response, Sailors like Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Ellison Robinson and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jazmine Strain are training, preparing, and ensuring the fleet remains medically ready.
Both Sailors serve in the command’s Anesthesia and Respiratory Therapy (RT) Department, an area critical to surgical capability and emergency response across the installation. Their daily work directly supports warfighter readiness by sustaining safe, reliable, and deployable medical care in a remote overseas environment.
Robinson joined the Navy in 2019 seeking personal growth and greater opportunities. Nearly six years later, she has become a cornerstone of NMRTC Sigonella’s surgical and respiratory therapy readiness.
Each morning, Robinson assists anesthesia providers and the main operating room team with surgical cases, ensuring equipment, patient preparation, and airway support are executed flawlessly. In the afternoons, she conducts pulmonary function tests. These assessments are essential to determining medical fitness for duty and deployment.
A highly trained and certified Sailor, Robinson has mastered a wide range of lifesaving qualifications, serving as an instructor for Neonatal Resuscitation Program, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, Hospital Corpsman Skills Basic, and STB. She also holds key collateral duties that sustain essential programs across the command, including Anesthesia/RT Supply Petty Officer, Respiratory Protection Program Assistant, departmental training Petty Officer, and Ethics Committee representative.
For Robinson, these responsibilities are more than checklists, they are how she strengthens readiness across the force.
“Serving means taking care and being there for the Sailors around you so we can better accomplish any mission,” said Robinson. “Sharing knowledge builds confidence in patient care and improves our overall capability as a team.”
Her commitment has not gone unnoticed. Cmdr. Radhames Lizardo, Director of Surgical Services, praised her impact stating, “HM3 Robinson stands as the backbone of RT within SS, holding the line through nearly a year of solo call coverage, mastering multiple certifications, and setting the bar for professionalism and excellence. Her relentless drive makes her an irreplaceable asset to the Navy and every surgical team she supports.”
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jazmine Strain, arrived at U.S. Naval Hospital Sigonella only three months ago, but her influence on the team is already significant, according to Cmdr. Radhames Lizardo. A Navy Medicine professional since 2017, she brings extensive experience from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, adult Intensive Care Unit, and pulmonary clinic settings.
Cmdr. Lizardo went on to say “Since arriving, HM2 Strain has exemplified initiative and leadership, diving into Joint Commission preparation, expanding respiratory therapy’s reach, and teaching others the critical role RTs play in surgical readiness. Her energy and adaptability have made an immediate and lasting impact on the standard of care we deliver.”
Her daily routine supports both patient care and team coordination. After morning muster and TEAMSTEPPS huddle, critical tools for communication and patient safety, Strain assists with surgical preparation, patient monitoring, and pulmonary assessments.
Strain also plays a vital role in command programs such as the Career Development Team, Command Resiliency Team, Urinalysis Program observer, and Command Sponsorship Program. She enjoys these duties because they allow her to take ownership of mission-essential processes.
“These duties help the command run more smoothly,” she said. “It’s satisfying to know that the extra effort makes things better for others and directly contributes to readiness.” She is currently pursuing a master’s in health administration while continuing to expand her clinical proficiency.
Whether preparing an operating room, training staff, responding to emergencies, or assessing a service member’s deployability, Robinson and Strain embody the readiness mission of Navy Medicine.
Both Sailors emphasize that Navy medical professionals must be prepared for anything, from routine cases to critical emergencies.
“In Navy Medicine, we must be ready for anything,” Strain said. “I work behind the scenes, but what I do directly affects lives and mission readiness.”
Their dedication ensures that every patient—from service members to families—receives world-class care, and that the warfighter stays ready to answer the nation’s call.
As NMRTC Sigonella continues its mission in the heart of the Mediterranean, Sailors like Robinson and Strain remain vital to sustaining medical readiness, strengthening force health, and delivering the life-saving capability that the Navy and Marine Corps team depends on every day.
Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Sigonella ensures the medical and combat readiness of active-duty personnel. As a key medical asset in the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) area of responsibility, NMRTC Sigonella supports operational forces with expeditionary medical capabilities, force health protection, and readiness training. Aligned with Naval Medical Forces Atlantic (NMFL), the command remains mission-focused on sustaining a medically and combat ready force to support global operations.
United States Naval Hospital (USNH) Sigonella is one the Defense Health Agency’s Overseas Military Treatment Facilities (MTF). The staff are comprised of active-duty service members, General Service (GS), contractors, and Local Nationals. It ensures maximum readiness by providing high-quality, safe patient and family-centered care to maximize force health protection for all beneficiaries, to included NATO and transient DoD forces in the U.S. Fifth Fleet and U.S. Sixth Fleet areas of operation.