Photo By Cpl. David Ornelasbaeza | U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman First Class Robert Zaruba, from Florida, an aeromedical...... read more read more
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The ice-cold breeze blew right into the face of Hospital Corpsman First Class (HM1) Robert Zaruba, a Florida native and Aeromedical Safety Corpsman (AMSC) with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), as he and a fellow corpsman stepped out from the parked commercial plane and into the Arctic Circle.
“Me and another one of my fellow corpsmen stepped out into the cold,” said Zaruba. “We were like, WOW, we’re not in Kansas anymore Toto.’”
This stark change in scenery contrasted to his corner office located inside the 2nd MAW headquarters building at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, where he is currently stationed. In Norway, Zaruba and a team of six corpsmen and two U.S. Navy medical corps officers were tasked with setting up a role-1 battalion aid station, which ultimately served over 450 Marines and Sailors and acted as their first line of defense for illness or injury during the exercise they were participating in. Under Zaruba’s management, the medical team at this aid station provided physical examinations to Marines and Sailors and used it as a launching-off point for corpsmen to go out into the field in support of survival and operational training events, ensuring the Marines there could stay healthy and focus on the training at hand.
Zaruba and his team were in Norway for Exercise Nordic Response 24, an exercise designed to promote military competency in arctic environments and to foster interoperability between the U.S. Marine Corps and NATO Allies. The aid station his team was tasked to set up and manage, and for which Zaruba served as the staff non-commissioned officer in charge (SNCOIC), was a crucial element of the exercise because it provided primary medical capabilities to 2nd MAW headquarters, the exercise’s command element. Without it, Marines and Sailors responsible for the exercise’s planning, coordination, and logistics would have limited access to primary medical care, risking the headquarters' ability to fulfill its mission there.
“Anytime you take military forces from the environment they’re accustomed to,” said Zaruba, “challenges can present themselves pretty quickly.”
However, Zaruba attributes his team's success during Nordic Response to substantial forethought and preparedness. Back in North Carolina, they had meticulously ensured that they had the requisite training, supplies and readiness for a 60-to-90-day deployment in the arctic. Zaruba’s leadership as the SNCOIC was crucial in preparing his team to take on that task.
Last month, because of his leadership and dedication to the management of multiple 2nd MAW aeromedical safety programs, Zaruba was named as the recipient of the U.S. Navy Aerospace and Operational Physiology Program's (NAOPP) Robert Graham Award for fiscal year 2024. Citing his initiative and total dedication to duty, the award recognized Zaruba at the top of his field as an AMSC, having been selected from eligible nominees across the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps' aviation components. To earn this award, nominees must be between the ranks of E-6 and E-9 and work in a military occupational specialty associated with the NAOPP. Their performance during the award year must have also included significant contributions to the accomplishment of their command's mission and displayed devotion to duty, cooperativeness and individual productivity.
AMSCs, like Zaruba, are experts in human factors and the physiological threats related to military operations. They use their expertise to help Marines and Sailors endure and succeed in challenging environments, such as on the ground in northern Norway or in the cockpit of an F-35. In his current role at 2nd MAW, Zaruba helps to prepare pilots for the stresses that G-forces put on the human body, playing an essential role in mitigating risk during flight operations.
In addition to his assigned duties in 2024, for several months Zaruba also managed the Ground Operator Night Vision Device (NVD) training program for II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) as the enlisted program manager. His team instructed Marines not just within 2nd MAW, but across II MEF, on how to properly use night vision devices.
“It’s not as simple as just throwing on the goggles,” said Zaruba. “We live in a three-dimensional world, but when you put on the goggles, the world turns two-dimensional with a limited field of view.”
Zaruba and other instructors ensured Marines and Sailors were trained to use these devices effectively in their theater of operations. In conjunction with managing the NVD training program and his efforts in Norway, where he also served as the responsible safety officer for over $300,000 in medical equipment, Zaruba provided valuable mentorship for junior Sailors in his field. As a 2nd MAW AMSC, Zaruba currently serves as the mentor and leader for four Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) AMSCs, over which he provides program management, oversees aeromedical readiness, and facilitates career enhancing training for the AMSCs.
“Being the individual who my community peers can come to for any reason whatsoever, day or night, weekends and holidays, is the honor of a lifetime,” said Zaruba.
Zaruba's actions and attitude correlate to his, and 2nd MAW’s, priority to mitigate unnecessary risk in everything they do. As a mentor, he seeks to instill in his subordinates a behavior of taking their time and doing things right the first time, every time. Attention to detail is paramount in his approach to mitigating risk.
“Mitigating risk is making sure Marines and Sailors can accomplish their mission without letting them fall into a realm of complacency,” said Zaruba. “Complacency leads to little things stacking up and ultimately creating a possible dangerous situation.”
Zaruba believes in thoroughly preparing his team before they support any operations or event - whether overseas, or in the United States - and in making sure that all the hazards and risks associated with the job at hand to accomplish the mission are understood by those involved. According to Zaruba, all corpsmen have the privileged role of teaching Marines and Sailors of every rank on how to use their critical thinking skills to keep themselves and their fellow Marines and Sailors safe. Zaruba capitalized on this opportunity, embraced leadership roles, and was ultimately named the NAOPP's Robert Graham awardee for fiscal year 2024. Zaruba credits his team for the award.
“It’s me being recognized, but it’s a team award,” said Zaruba. “All of my corpsmen, my officers, my command, they all won the award with me. The military is a team sport.”
| Date Taken: | 03.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 03.28.2025 11:43 |
| Story ID: | 493929 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 290 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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