Forging a ready medical force: Naval Medical Forces Pacific changes command
The ceremony marked the conclusion of a high-tempo tenure for Brown, who has been appointed to serve as the next surgeon general of the Navy. Ewing now leads the more than 14,600 personnel across Naval Medical Forces Pacific (NMFP) and the Defense Health Network - Pacific Rim (DHN-PR).
"Kevin did not simply manage an enterprise; he led an absolute powerhouse spanning half the globe," said Rear Adm. Matthew Case, the acting Navy Surgeon General and chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. "He took a complex, multi-time-zone command and ensured that it operated as a finely tuned, combat-ready machine while projecting his trademark calm and composure."
Case also highlighted the deep professional and personal ties connecting the three leaders, describing their decades-long relationship as an ongoing, career-long game of "tag" that began at the old clinic at the Naval Academy in 2002.
Under Brown's leadership, NMFP directed 10 Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Commands, guided the maturation of the Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center to train, evaluate, and certify Expeditionary Medicine platforms, and drove innovation across eight global research laboratories operating in 24 countries. Brown oversaw critical Expeditionary Medicine capabilities, including En-Route Care Systems, Expeditionary Medical Facilities, Expeditionary Resuscitative Surgical Systems, and the USNS Mercy medical personnel. To ensure combat ready care, he integrated expeditionary medical forces into major joint and bilateral exercises, including Rim of the Pacific, Balikatan, Talisman Sabre, and Arctic Edge, while directing medical support for the Artemis II space recovery mission and multiple real-world operational missions in support of the U.S. Pacific Command and numerous fleet maritime operations.
Beyond operational deployments, Brown drove significant gains in clinical performance and patient care across DHN-PR, aligning efforts to optimize care for hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries. Under his leadership, the network executed pilot programs that streamlined operating rooms and maximized purchasing power, translating directly to clinical success.
To sharpen the medical force’s clinical currency, Brown focused on increasing clinical volume and complexity to ensure medical personnel maintain trauma and combat-care skills.
"You are a critical part of an expeditionary fighting force, our nation’s first responders, prepared when called upon, and willing to run toward the loud noise when the details of the battle plan are unknown," Brown said, praising the NMFP and DHN-PR personnel. "You enable the National Defense Strategy by optimizing limited resources to ensure that the joint operational forces we support, and the medical forces we train, are ready to fight and win in a peer-contested environment."
Concluding his remarks, Brown brought Mark Boman, the NMFP chief of staff, to center stage to recognize his tireless behind-the-scenes service.
“No one epitomizes the perfect teammate like Mark Boman, and he’s been doing it longer than any of us,” Brown said. “Mark is always behind the scenes quietly sacrificing to make sure the team wins, and then publicly recognizing others for the things he actually accomplished. For my year on this team, Mark has been the chief of staff, the acting deputy commander for nine months, and acting commander many times. He is a trusted confidant and friend.”
Ewing assumed leadership of the command following a tour as director of the Defense Health Network National Capital Region. A board-certified pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist, Ewing becomes the first pediatrician to command Naval Medical Forces Pacific in more than a decade.
Addressing the audience, Ewing emphasized that operational readiness is measured not on paper, but by the courage and competence of the personnel standing watch every day.
"Whether projecting expeditionary medical power, from certifying our combat trauma teams at Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center and supporting the Artemis II recovery, to those 10 off-duty corpsmen who courageously ran into danger after a house explosion in Twentynine Palms, our people define readiness," Ewing said.
The assignment marks a homecoming for Ewing and his wife. Nearly 30 years ago, Ewing reported to Naval Medical Center San Diego as a fourth-year medical student, pediatric intern, and resident, while his wife served as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse.
"As we look toward the horizon, the mission before us is vital, dynamic, and enduring," Ewing said. "It is the highest privilege of my career to stand with you, and it is an absolute honor to take the helm."
NMFP provides oversight for 10 Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Commands (NMRTC) on the West Coast and Pacific Rim that train, man and equip medical forces, primarily in military treatment facilities. Globally, NMFP oversees eight research laboratories that deliver research expertise in support of warfighter health and readiness. Additionally, NMFP manages the Naval Expeditionary Medicine Warfighter Development Center (NEMWDC), which plays a critical role in preparing medical teams for expeditionary and operational environments.
Defense Health Network Pacific Rim (DHN-PR) is one of the Defense Health Agency’s nine networks of hospitals and clinics that deliver high-quality health care to the more than 276,000 TRICARE beneficiaries we are privileged to serve. The DHN-PR headquarters is located in San Diego, supporting military treatment facilities along the U.S. West Coast and overseas in Guam and Japan.
Navy Medicine, with more than 44,000 military and civilian health care professionals, provides expeditionary medical support to the warfighter.
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