Navy

Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Europe, Africa, Central (EURAFCENT) awarded a $59.6 million modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, Oct. 31 to Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc., for Base Operations Support (BOS) services at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti (CLDJ), and Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti.

The contract modification provides an additional 12 months of BOS services under the basic contract and brings the total cumulative face value to $533.1 million.

“Overall, Base Operating Service contracts are essential to the success of military operations,” NAVFAC EURAFCENT Director of Public Works Juan Jimenez Arocho said. “BOS contracts include services, such as utility system operations, facilities management and repairs, transportation and many other services that keep the installation operating on a daily basis”

BOS provides the resources to operate the bases, installations, camps, posts, and stations of the Military Departments and the Defense Health Program. These resources sustain mission capability, ensure quality of life, enhance workforce productivity, and fund personnel and infrastructure support.

Facilities management is a crucial aspect of BOS. It involves the maintenance and upkeep of the physical infrastructure of the installation. This includes everything from repairing buildings and roads to managing utilities and waste disposal.

BOS services to be performed in this contract includes for all management and administration; security, fire and emergency; air operations; ordnance; material management and supply; facilities management and investment; pest control; integrated solid waste; pavement clearance; utilities; base support vehicles and equipment; morale, welfare and recreation support; galley; unaccompanied housing; custodial; grounds maintenance and landscaping; and environmental services to provide base operation support services.

The base contract was awarded on Aug. 16, 2017, to Kellogg Brown & Root Services, Inc., as a result of full and open competition using best-value source selection procedures. This option year seven period will be executed from Nov. 20, 2024, to Nov. 19, 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Work will be performed at CLDJ, and Chabelley Airfield, Djibouti.

The Department of Defense contract announcement can be read at https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/3954322/

About Naval Facilities Engineering Command Europe Africa Central

NAVFAC EURAFCENT manages facility project planning and design, including all related acquisition, construction, leasing, environmental, maintenance, and contingency support required by the Navy and Department of Defense commands where the Navy is designated as the lead agent in Europe, Southwest Asia, and the Gulf of Guinea, Africa, and the Horn of Africa. Subordinate Public Works Departments in Bahrain; Devesulu, Romania; Djibouti; Naples, Italy; Redzikowo, Poland; Rota, Spain; Sigonella, Italy; Souda Bay, Greece, provide facilities support service to each installation throughout the area of responsibility, and employs approximately 1,200 military, government civilians, local nationals and contractors.

NORFOLK, VA. – Did you know the role of a Dental officer extends far beyond maintaining oral health? Dental officers also serve as triage officers in times of crisis. They practice trauma evaluation skills by classifying patients into triage categories, performing triage and surgical support duties at battalion aid and battle dressing stations, stations located near a combat area for giving first aid to the wounded.

Recently, 30 Sailors and soldiers participated in triage and tactical casualty combat care (TCCC) training aboard USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7), equipping Navy and Army medical professionals with critical trauma response skills needed in crisis situations.

The group was composed of more than 15 trainers, including Simulation Center Staff, that trained 20 dentists from the Navy and Army, two physicians, a medical administration officer, a chaplain, and 10 hospital corpsmen.

The triage training program originated from a partnership between Dr. Mary Sturgeon, a Veterans Affairs dentist at the Simulation Learning, Evaluation, Assessment, and Research Network (SimLEARN), the Veteran’s Health Administration program for simulation in health care training, and Cmdr. Daniel Honl, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Great Lakes, who previously led similar sessions for other medical personnel. Their collaborative approach provided dental officers and corpsmen with essential trauma first-responder skills that prepare them for various mission scenarios.

“In this training we had eight brand new dental officers reporting to us as their first command,” said Cmdr. Blaze Negron, the senior dental officer assigned to Iwo Jima. “We’re preparing them for any roles that they could possibly have in their day-to-day, as well as in support of operational medicine. Because of this training program they’re much more confident to engage in those evolutions and see what areas they can develop.”

This training is part of a Navy Medicine-wide pilot program through a partnership with NMRTC Great Lakes and Lovell Veteran’s Affairs Healthcare Facility designed to cover a broad spectrum of casualty care to better provide healthcare ashore, the sea, and the front lines. “We cast our net wide, addressing different aspects of trauma response,” Negron explained. “Through this experience, these dental officers will become even more valuable to overall medical response efforts in a crisis.”

Capt. José Pedroza, the senior regional dental officer assigned to Naval Medical Forces Atlantic (NMFL), noted that students achieved TCCC Level 1 certification and 24 hours of continuing education. “This joint training went well,” Pedroza said. “Skill stations were created to address triage, and included the Walking Blood Bank, and mass casualty scenarios.”

Ultimately the Emergent Care Training with Medical Simulated Modules training highlights the collaboration between Navy and Army medical teams, fostering interoperable readiness and teamwork. The joint effort also underscores the role of dental officers as adaptable first responders capable of providing emergency care under intense, real-world conditions. By immersing the trainees in hands-on exercises, the event emphasized both tactical and medical readiness, preparing the participants to support and sustain a rapid response in crises, whether during humanitarian missions or on the battlefield.

NMFL, headquartered in Portsmouth, Virginia, delivers operationally focused medical expertise and capabilities to meet Fleet, Marine and Joint Force requirements by providing equipment, sustainment and maintenance of medical forces during combat operations and public health crises. NMFL provides oversight for 21 NMRTCs, logistics, and public health and dental services throughout the U.S. East Coast, U.S. Gulf Coast, Cuba, Europe, and the Middle East.

Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore.

Well before dawn on most days, there’s a solitary figure striding up the surrounding inclines which envelop Naval Hospital Bremerton.

For Ed Gerlach, physical therapist assistant at NHB, the morning workout allows him to maintain physical – as well as mental – health to handle his daily workload assigned to NHB’s Physical Therapy Department.

“As well as maintain the ability to do all of my hiking, kayaking, snowboarding and many other hobbies, as well as prevent and work on my own aches and pains, and be fully ready to assist my patients,” said Gerlach.

With October designated as National Physical Therapy Month, Gerlach helps provide a wide array of physical therapy services for eligible patients. Last year, NHB’s Physical Therapy saw over 9,200 patients. As a physical therapist assistant, Gerlach works under supervision of a physical therapist in helping patients improve their mobility and function after injury and surgery. He also assists in evaluating, instructing and treating musculoskeletal ailments and disorders, and providing specifically designed routines to help clients recover, recuperate and rehabilitate.

However, Gerlach knows there are some people who are unfamiliar with physical therapy and the associated benefits.

“PT is just a good way to decrease and prevent pain, increase balance, and improve mobility which in the long term helps improve quality of life, including some mental health benefits such as helping to reduce stress and anxieties,” stressed Gerlach. “There are people who don’t work out regularly because of pain. PT is a good way to start a workout routine that will help identify the cause of the pain and target muscle group to help decrease pain and prevent future pains and injuries.”

Some of the most common injuries which Gerlach and other members of PT usually deal with include helping patients with post operative healing from shoulder surgeries to foot and ankle surgeries, as well as chronic illnesses.

“We care for patients on a daily basis who have suffered a traumatic injury or debilitating illness, and our clinic does really well help them recovery and rehab,” stated Gerlach, who has been working in NHB’s PT department for 10 years. For him, it’s been a decade of fulfillment.

“Seeing people progress from not being able to move or lift a body part after a surgery to getting back out to doing the activities and hobbies that they love is gratifying,” Gerlach said. “Their appreciation in receiving help to personally improve their quality of life also helps me on a personal level by knowing I’ve made a difference in someone’s life for the better.”

Yet it’s almost by chance that a self-described Army brat somehow ended up in the Pacific Northwest far removed from his original roots. Born in Texarkana, Texas, Gerlach moved to Heidelberg, Germany when only four months old and spent his next 14 years there.

“However, if you were to see me on a Friday during any college sports season, you would know that I call Arkansas home which is where most of my family still lives and is where the original homestead is,” exclaimed Gerlach.

By 1998 he was in Fayetteville, North Carolina, completed Pine Forest High School in 2002, followed by graduating from Fayetteville Technical Community College in 2007. Before starting his career in Navy Medicine Gerlach toiled for a local company as a traveling physical therapist assistant, commuting between six different clinics, “and getting paid mileage and lunch which was great for a recent college graduate new to the work force,” quipped Gerlach.

Still, he sensed something was missing. A timely note from a former teacher informed him of a position open at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune.

“I hopped on the opportunity. Fast forward six years later from there. The wife and I decided to move in 2014 and Washington just happened to be the landing spot. She’s at Madigan Army Medical Center and I’ve been at NHB for ten years. Being from the military community, it’s just felt like home here. I have been around the military my whole life so being able to help out military families and help give back means a lot. I know the hardships that come along our lifestyle. And the best part is just how much fun it is meeting new people all the time and helping improve their quality of life,” shared Gerlach.

The added bonus for Gerlach being at NHB is access to the surrounding wilderness featuring the Olympic Mountains to the west and the Cascade Range across Puget Sound. He takes off at every opportunity to explore.

“There are so many awesome hiking, trekking, backpacking and camping adventures. But my all-time favorite would be the Enchantments Lakes [high elevation alpine lakes in the Cascades]. Nearly 20 miles of crystal blue lakes, depending on time of year blazing golden larches and a super fun ascent nearly 2,000 feet in just three-quarters of a mile,” related Gerlach.

When asked to sum up his experience with Navy Medicine in one sentence, Gerlach replied, “It’s been awesome to be here the last 10 years and be able to be part of such an amazing core group of clinicians and co-workers.”

Even when the mountains are calling.