DVIDS – News – 2022 review: Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit (NEPMU) 7

Resolutely standing at Naval Base (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain, Navy Environmental Preventative Medicine Unit (NEPMU) 7 provides theater-wide preventive medicine support to Navy and of the Marine Corps, to joint and combined military operations, and to allied governments when requested, including support to three combatant commands (COCOM). The team achieves this by providing a wide range of expertise in areas such as occupational safety and health, environmental health, integrated pest management, disease control and prevention, education and training, health promotion and wellness programs. As one of only four NEPMUs in the Navy, NEPMU-7 is committed to protecting and preserving force readiness through its ability to provide timely risk information to operational commanders. real or quasi-real for decision-making.

In 2022, NEPMU-7 supported 57 commands/units in 18 countries across six geographic combatant commands! Ninety-one missions were completed to provide services such as ship health control exemption certification inspection, food and water risk assessment, exchange of subject matter experts for cooperation on theater security, integrated pest management, vector-borne disease risk assessment and theater task forces. To prepare our warfighters for missions, NEPMU-7 generated force health protection (FHP) briefs for 58 countries, and provided combatant commanders with information and tools that help them make critical decisions. Additionally, as a school and training center, NEPMU 7 has hosted eight Navy Training Course Catalogs (CANTRAC) and graduated more than 30 preventive medicine technicians and others working in sanitation, handling food and the fight against disease vectors.

NEPMU 7 has subject matter experts: microbiologist, preventive medicine doctor, administrative/commercial manager, environmental health manager, biochemist, industrial hygienist, entomologist and preventive medicine technicians (PMT).

One of the NEPMU 7 corps members, PMT Chief Neilor Bicomong, is an example of how the command provides its expertise to assist and support the fleet. Selected to lead 30 joint military personnel and mentor three officers in executing FHP measures for the largest repositioning effort in East Africa, his superb leadership ensured the safe and rapid movement of 854 military personnel and over 400 pieces of equipment, overcoming the challenges of COVID. -19 restrictions.

Bicomong was selected as chief of the Navy for his superior leadership and outstanding performance. Bicomong led and mentored 19 Soldiers and officers in daily operations as Chief of Operations. By planning and executing the deployment of 19 members, he successfully completed 68 missions in 19 countries, providing health protection support to 90 operational units and 110,000 joint warfighters across three geographic COCOMs during and after the difficult COVID-19 pandemic. It was selected to support the training of 20 Senegalese doctors, nurses and medical technicians, thus contributing to the development and implementation of the PrevMed doctrine for the Senegalese army, a stabilizing regional force now a partner in health security . Additionally, he conducted five SSCECs in support of 15 U.S. ships, provided preventive medicine guidance to address ship public health concerns, and ensured each ship could dock at international ports to vital maintenance and replenishment.

NEPMU-7’s mission is to “prepare” for potential public health emergencies, “protect” our forces from natural and man-made hazards, and “respond” to hazards and emergencies. They proudly serve as part of the NAVSTA Rota community to achieve the goal of supporting the nation’s objectives and defense, providing unparalleled preventive medicine support to the Navy, Marine Corps, Joint Force as well as ‘to allies and partners.