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The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) earned the Commander, Naval Surface Forces 2018 Force Health and Unit Wellness “Green H”, April 25.
This is Kearsarge’s 22nd consecutive Green H, making the ship one of only three in the Navy to hold such a record.
“Every day our medical officers and corpsmen give their best effort in promoting the health of every Sailor and Marine on board,” said Capt. Jason Rimmer, Kearsarge’s commanding officer. “Their devotion to their duties is critical to personnel readiness and allows us to protect our most valuable asset: our people.”
The award is given to ships that have accomplished a combination of health education and related organizational, social, economic and health care interventions with the sole purpose of protecting the health of the crew.
“It’s imperative to stay prepared to medically support the Navy and Marine Corps team,” said Capt. Mae Pouget, Kearsarge’s senior medical officer. “We can’t do what we do without healthy and ready warfighters who continually fight to protect the American people.”
Contributing to medical department’s success was the formation of a health promotion committee, comprised of representatives from different departments around the ship, who joined forces to establish goals to improve the health and readiness of the crew.
Chief Hospital Corpsman Demetrius Hartsfield, Kearsarge’s medical leading chief petty officer said they increased the amount of Sailors enrolling and completing the shipboard tobacco cessation program by 44 percent, kept physical fitness assessment failures below 1.4 percent for the command and reduced the number of safety mishaps and injuries by 26 percent.
The key factor in Kearsarge’s achievement was the ability of the crew to work together, enabling the medical department to provide the best quality service they can, Pouget said.
“I’m really proud of the medical department and the crew,” Pouget exclaimed. “We wouldn’t be able to meet the criteria for this award if it wasn’t for our Sailors being medically compliant. Upholding appointments to complete their physical health assessments and participating in our health programs has really helped us to earn this award. It really is a team effort throughout the ship.”
The other two ships to earn the Green H for 22 consecutive years are the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56).
Kearsarge is the flagship for the Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group and, with the embarked 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.03.2019 14:05 |
| Story ID: | 320291 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Kearsarge Keeps Green Streak Going, by PO1 Ryre Arciaga, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
