Thursday, September 26, 2019

New Orleans Native Serves with U.S. Navy Hospital Half a World Away in Guam

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class (SW) David Wyscaver, Navy Office of Community Outreach

SANTA RITA, Guam – A 2015 John Ehret High School graduate and New Orleans native is serving in the U.S. Navy with U.S. Naval Hospital Guam.

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Heidi Cheek
Hospitalman Da'Markus Noil is responsible for conducting radiology tests, X-rays, cat scans, and emergency operating room cases.

Noil credits success in the Navy to many of the lessons learned in New Orleans.

“I learned it's good to get out of your comfort zone to help you grow as a person,” said Noil.

Naval Hospital Guam is comprised of the main hospital in Agana Heights and two branch clinics, medical and dental, on Naval Base Guam. The hospital’s staff consists of 516 active duty and 201 civilians, contractors, reservists and volunteers who serve more than 26,000 beneficiaries.

According to officials at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the ships, submarines, aircraft and Navy personnel forward-deployed to Guam are part of the world’s largest fleet command and serve in a region critical to U.S. national security. The U.S. Pacific Fleet encompasses 100 million square miles, nearly half the Earth’s surface, from Antarctica to the Arctic Circle and from the West Coast of the United States into the Indian Ocean. All told, there are more than 200 ships and submarines, nearly 1,200 aircraft, and more than 130,000 uniformed and civilian personnel serving in the Pacific.

“I enjoy the weather, the beaches and the people here,” Noil said.

Serving in the Navy means Noil is part of a world that is taking on new importance in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.

A key element of the Navy the nation needs is tied to the fact that America is a maritime nation, and that the nation’s prosperity is tied to the ability to operate freely on the world’s oceans. More than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water; 80 percent of the world’s population lives close to a coast; and 90 percent of all global trade by volume travels by sea.

“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”

Though there are many ways for sailors to earn distinction in their command, community, and career, Noil is most proud of being able to help others in his department work together as a team.

“It's important to me because I believe in giving back and helping others,” said Noil.

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Noil and other sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes, one that will provide a critical component of the Navy the nation needs.

“Serving to me means being a part of something that's bigger than myself and taking care of others like they are your family,” added Noil.