Flag announcements
Fair Winds and Following Seas to RADM Freedman – RADM Case is Acting Surgeon General of Navy
Navy Medicine Shipmates,
As I step away from a military career that began in 1989, my heart is full of gratitude. Reflecting on nearly four decades of service, I am struck by the incredible evolution of our force and moved by the spirit and quality of the people I have been privileged to serve alongside.
Whether you are a hospital corpsman, a physician, dentist, nurse, administrator, clinician, scientist, civilian or contractor, you are the lifeblood of this organization. With steadfast dedication to our mission, each one of you contributes more than you know – you are the reason we remain the finest Navy in the world.
I remain profoundly humbled to have been part of this incredible team, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with men and women who sacrifice so much to ensure the health and readiness of our Sailors and Marines. As I depart, I remain confident in and excited about the future of Navy Medicine.
As I leave, Navy Medicine will be in the steady hands of Rear Adm. Matthew Case who will serve as Acting Surgeon General. He is a familiar face to all of you, having served as executive assistant to the 39th Surgeon General, as Commander, Naval Medical Forces Atlantic, and most recently as acting Deputy Director of the Defense Health Agency. He is intimately familiar with the complexities of our mission and brings a level of expertise and a genuine passion for serving our warfighters that is second to none. You are in good hands.
Thank you for your dedication and sacrifices, your excellence, and your friendship. It has been the journey of a lifetime. I would do it all again without any hesitation. It has been an honor serving with you.
Fair winds and following seas, Navy Medicine. Go Win Today!
Sincerely,
RADM Rick Freedman
Dental Corps, United States Navy
Acting Surgeon General of the Navy
Acting Chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Matthew Case, a native of Nottingham, New Hampshire, poses for an official portrait as the acting Navy Surgeon General; acting chief, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; Director, Medical Service Corps. Navy Medicine’s 44,000+ talented and ready forces optimize health readiness, deliver quality healthcare, and provide global expeditionary medical support to warfighters from point of injury to higher roles of care. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sasha Ambrose)
Fair winds and following seas to Rear Adm. Freedman after 35 years of service
BLUF – Rear Adm. Rick Freedman retired after 35 years of service in the Navy Dental Corps, concluding a career that included serving as the 39th Chief of the Navy Dental Corps, Acting Navy Surgeon General, Deputy Surgeon General, and Acting Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, with leadership roles spanning operational deployments, military treatment facilities, and the Defense Health Agency. For Navy Medicine, his career reflects the increasing importance of developing clinicians who can lead across operational, clinical, and enterprise levels, demonstrating how diverse leadership experience prepares officers to guide the Medical Department through periods of transformation while maintaining readiness.
NYT – Secret Vetting and Blocked Promotions: Inside Hegseth’s War on Diversity
BLUF – The article reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally intervened to remove several officers from Navy flag promotion lists after they had been selected by statutory promotion boards, with current and former officials telling the New York Times that the officers removed disproportionately included women and minority officers. For Navy Medicine, the story is significant because confidence in a merit-based and predictable promotion system is a key factor in retaining senior healthcare leaders, and continued scrutiny of promotion decisions could influence perceptions of career progression among officers competing for executive leadership positions.
Opinion – Defense secretary’s Navy flag board actions are unprecedented and deeply troubling
BLUF – The opinion piece argues that Defense Secretary Hegseth’s removal of several officers from the FY27 Navy one-star admiral promotion list after selection by a statutory board is an unprecedented intervention that undermines confidence in the Navy’s merit-based promotion system and disregards the judgment of senior Navy leadership. For Navy Medicine, the article is particularly relevant because promotion board credibility and predictability are critical to retaining talented senior officers who rely on a transparent advancement process when considering long-term service and leadership opportunities.
Pentagon creates ‘Joint Warfighting Evaluation’ for general and admiral promotions
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/flag-officers-joint-warfighting
BLUF – The article reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the military to incorporate a new “joint warfighting ability” metric into officer and senior enlisted evaluations and promotions, signaling a greater emphasis on performance in integrated, multi-service operations. Although it is unclear if this would be applicable to Staff Corps officers, for Navy Medicine leaders, the change may increase the value placed on operational and joint assignments—including combatant command, joint staff, operational medicine, and expeditionary medicine experiences—and Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) as promotion systems evolve to align leadership selection more closely with joint force readiness and warfighting requirements.
Opinion – At What Point Does a Pattern Stop Being a Coincidence?
BLUF – Jessica Ruttenber argues that the recent removal of women and minority officers from senior military promotion lists is part of a broader pattern of personnel and policy decisions that disproportionately affect underrepresented groups, making it increasingly difficult to view each action as an isolated event. She highlights examples including promotion-board interventions, changes to policies affecting women in aviation, and the rollback of diversity-related initiatives, contending that the cumulative effect raises concerns about fairness, representation, and trust in military personnel systems. The article is an opinion piece that frames these developments as a systemic trend rather than a series of unrelated decisions and calls for greater scrutiny of how such decisions may shape the future military leadership pipeline.
https://jessicaruttenber.substack.com/p/at-what-point-does-a-pattern-stop
New York Times – Hegseth Strikes Female and Black Navy Officers From Promotion List
BLUF – The article reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally removed several Navy officers from a promotion list for one-star admiral after they had already been selected by a board of senior Navy leaders, an intervention described by current and former officials as highly unusual. The officers removed reportedly included women and Black officers, resulting in a final list of 22 nominees that was all male and overwhelmingly white; Pentagon officials denied that race or gender played a role and said promotions were based on merit. The move has intensified concerns about political involvement in military promotion decisions and follows other recent personnel actions by Hegseth that critics say have disproportionately affected women and minority officers.
CAPT Sean Barbabella, MC, USN, Nominated for Rear Admiral (Lower Half)
Here’s a link to the Senate nomination:
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 