By Rick Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Capt. Jeff Dial, a University of South Carolina alumnus, is serving at Naval Medical Readiness Logistics Command (NMRLC) Navy Reserve Unit, Williamsburg, Virginia.
Dial graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1997 with a Master of Public Health and joined the Navy 26 years ago.
“Upon completing graduate school in 1997, I wanted to find the best healthcare institution or system to develop my healthcare acumen, as well as my leadership skills,” said Dial. The U.S. Navy was the obvious choice.”
Today, Dial serves as the officer in charge at NMRLC Navy Reserve Unit.
“The thing that excites me the most about the Navy is that I get to help young people learn and develop clinical and practical skills that they not only use on the battlefield but in everyday life,” said Dial.
NMRLC manages the warehouse and production facility that procures, produces, manages, sustains, prepositions, and deploys rapidly deployable Expeditionary Medical (EXMED) Platforms in support of operational plans, exercise support and real-world operations.
Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, NMRLC supports readiness by providing deployable medical systems, high-quality eyewear and ophthalmic devices, and fleet logistical solutions. The EXMEDs provide Combatant Commanders’ desired capabilities regarding standardized, modular, scalable combat service support and medical/dental capabilities to advanced-base environments across the entire range of joint military operations.
NMRLC is at the heart of Navy Medicine’s enterprise-wide foundational change designing and delivering agile and integrated capabilities to the Fleet and Fleet Marine Forces in the Distributed Maritime Operations. These unique capabilities will provide medical assets to Combatant Commanders in theatres around the world.
With 90 percent of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to trained sailors and a strong Navy.
“Most individuals think the Navy contributes to national defense as it relates to our defensive posture,” said Dial. “However, as a Navy Medical Professional, I believe one of the Navy’s greatest ‘defensive’ assets are the numerous global humanitarian missions we conduct.”
Dial has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“My proudest moment in the Navy comes when I see my young sailors achieve their personal and professional goals,” said Dial.
As Dial and other sailors continue to train and perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the U.S. Navy.
“Serving in the Navy took the foundation that my parents provided and modeled me into not only a server but a defender of humanity,” said Dial. “Although the Navy has afforded me numerous opportunities to succeed, without my faith and family, I couldn’t have achieved any of those successes.”
