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Courses in Navy Exchange Management (6
weeks) and Commissary Store Management (4
weeks) are conducted several times yearly at
the Navy Resale and Services Supply Office,
Brooklyn, New York. A 6-month course in
Transportation Management conducted at the
Naval Supply Center, Oakland, California, covers
material on terminal operations and stevedoring,
traffic management, and warehousing. Supply
Corps officers may also attend other courses of
varying length conducted at both military and
civilian facilities. Course subjects may range from
petroleum storage to computer systems.
Development of a functional proficiency in no
way detracts from the overall opportunity of
supply officers to upgrade their professional
qualifications as a naval officer. Each year
approximately 100 Supply Corps officers are
selected for postgraduate training at military and
civilian institutions, some at the doctorate level.
Studies range from logistics and management
sciences to law and personnel administration.
Long-range plans for Supply Corps officers
involve their service as technoeconomists skilled
in the mathematical sciences, analytical methods,
and behavioral sciences essential to future Navy
operations.
BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND
SURGERY (BUMED)
The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
(BUMED) directs the worldwide medical and
dental services and facilities maintained by the
Department of the Navy. The mission of BUMED
within the national defense structure of the United
States is to safeguard the health of Navy and
Marine Corps personnel in the following areas:
• Care and treatment of sick and injured
members of the naval service and their
dependents
• Training programs for BUMED personnel
• Continuing programs of medical and
dental research
• Prevention and control of diseases and
injuries
• Promotion of physical fitness of members
in the naval service
• Care for on-the-job injuries and illnesses
of civilian employees
• Supervision of the care and preparation for
shipment and interment of deceased
military members and of civilian personnel
for whom the Navy is responsible
BUMED is headed by the Surgeon General of
the Navy, who serves as Chief of BUMED. The
Chief of BUMED promotes quality health care
for the patient and professional responsibility for
the patient’s well being. BUMED performs budget
formulation; provides manpower, facilities, and
material; establishes clinical standards; and
assures total quality management.
The first naval hospital was opened in
Portsmouth, Virginia, in 1830. In its earliest days,
the hospital was limited to a medical staff of five
men and very little equipment. The steady
progress made in the naval hospitalization system
since 1830 has kept pace with the rapid strides
made in civilian hospital services and medical
education. Today, the Navy operates over 30
hospitals in the United States (4 of which are
teaching hospitals) and over 100 medical clinics.
A naval hospital provides relatively full
diagnostic and therapeutic services together with
bed care, nursing, and dietetic services. Because
accessibility and capacity to serve the operating
forces are prime site considerations, most
hospitals are located along the coastal states.
Station hospitals can offer extended care to
patients, but they are smaller and more limited
in scope. A medical center provides temporary
in-patient treatment for those personnel with a
favorable prognosis for early release. A clinic is
designed mainly to provide examination and
treatment for ambulatory patients and first aid
for emergency cases.
Aboard ship, the scope of medical facilities
depends upon the complement of medical per-
sonnel, available space and equipment, capability
of the staff, and mission of the ship. Facilities thus
range from the scantily furnished sick bay of a
destroyer to one that is fully equipped aboard a
carrier. Personnel assigned vary from 2 hospital
corpsmen on a destroyer (the senior corpsman
being specially trained for independent duty) to
perhaps 40 or 50 officers and hospital corpsmen
on aircraft carriers.
To meet the demand of Navy health care, over
3,900 physicians, 3,100 nurses, and 2,600 Medical
Service Corps officers serve in the Navy. Other
personnel who provide medical assistance include
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