File:DEFENSE HEALTH PROGRAM (SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 2016) (IA 21484C3HS9Mar16SACDNavyMedicineVADMFaisonNSGFinalV2).pdf

STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL C. FORREST FAISON III, MC, USN
SURGEON GENERAL OF THE NAVY BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEFENSE OF THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Strategic Alignment
Readiness, the core mission of the Navy Medicine, is inextricably linked with those we serve, the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. We are fully engaged with supporting our maritime strategy as articulated by the Secretary of the Navy, Chief of Naval Operations and Commandant of the Marine Corps. Our leaders expect us to keep their Sailors and Marines healthy, ready to deploy, to deploy with them, as well as to protect their health, and when necessary, restore their health. Most importantly, we support the Navy-Marine Corps mandate to be where it matters, when it matters and ready to respond in time of crisis.

Since becoming the Navy Surgeon General in December 2015, I have reaffirmed that our most important strategic imperative remains readiness: Keeping Sailors, Marines and their families healthy and ensuring that the Navy Medicine team is a ready medical force. The obligation to keep our nation’s service members and their families healthy is both a privilege and sacred trust earned over years by providing care at sea, on the battlefield and around the world in our medical centers, hospitals and clinics. Today's Sailors and Marines are the most highly trained, specialized, and educated in our history. Because of this, every one of them is critical to the mission and the need to keep them and their families healthy has never been greater.

We must deliver ready capabilities to the operational commanders, maintain the clinical currency for our medical forces, and effectively integrate technology to improve the health and readiness of Sailors and Marines. We recognize that our collective efforts are strengthened given every uniformed member of Navy Medicine has a contingency assignment to an operational unit and, as such, has a distinct and important role in supporting our mission.
Navy Medicine, in conjunction with the Army and Air Force, is leveraging joint opportunities with the Defense Health Agency (DHA). The DHA provides support to the Services in the form of shared services including: facilities planning; medical logistics; health information technology; health plan; budget and resource management; contracting; pharmacy; research, development and acquisition; medical education and training; and, public health. Their efforts in delivering shared services support and common business practices across the Military Health System (MHS) are focused on efficiencies and savings. The work is important to the Services’ missions as well as the Defense Health Program as we work to ensure optimal resource efficiency in our mission.