by Christina Clarke, Public
Affairs Specialist
NAPLES, Italy - Carolyn Currie,
a Lake George, New York native, was recently promoted to the rank of Captain in the United
States Navy. Currie had the honor of having her oath rendered by Rear Admiral Tina
Davidson, Director of the Navy Nurse Corps.
 |
| Currie (center) receives her Captain shoulder boards from her brother Christopher Currie (left) and her nephew Henry Currie-Luden (right, lifted by Captain Williams). |
“I was fortunate
to have my family and colleagues support me for this momentous occasion,” says
Currie. “The ceremony was held at the
Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.
Captain Carlos Williams, the Director of the Office for Global Health
Engagement, served as the master of ceremonies.”
The venue and
guests were reflective of Currie’s professional career. She began as a Nurse Practitioner in 1995,
directed the Navy’s first Sexual Assault Response Team from 2000 – 2004, and
was deployed in 2006 to Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait as the first
Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner to deploy in support of Operation Enduring
Freedom, to name just a few examples. Since
her first duty station, Currie has exemplified women’s success and impact to
Navy Medicine.
“I
joined the medical community because I enjoy helping people restore and maintain
good health,” says Currie. “I was also
inspired by my grandmother who practiced nursing for nearly 50 years. I was drawn to the Navy by the opportunities
for travel and adventure while serving my country, but it has provided so much
more than I could ever imagine. The Navy has been my extended family for 25
years!”
In
June, Currie will leave her duty station in Naples, Italy and report to the
Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland where
she will serve as the Director for Education and Training at the Center for
Global Health Engagement.
Currie,
daughter of John Currie of Lake George, NY and Mary Collins of Chapel Hill, NC,
graduated from Queensbury High School in 1982. She received her associate degree
in Nursing from State University of New York at Morrisville in 1984 and
completed her bachelor’s from State University of New York at Plattsburgh.
She
was commissioned into the Navy under a full time out-service program for her
master’s in nursing in 1993. She received her degree from University of
Washington in May 1995 as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner (WHNP). She also
earned a Master of Public Health degree in 2007 from Naval Medical Center San
Diego.