MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Petty Officer 3rd Class Anthony Garen, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, was recently selected as Junior Sailor of the Quarter for the fourth quarter of 2025 and Junior Sailor of the Year while serving with Expeditionary Medical Facility-Mike (EMF-M) in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Junior Sailor awards are given to an enlisted sailor in the Navy who is in the pay grade of E-4. The awards recognize sailors who demonstrate sustained superior performance, leadership and professionalism.
Garen, a 2018 graduate of Ardrey Kell High School and from the Univeristy of North Carolina Wilmington in 2022, joined the Navy two and a half years ago and now serves as a hospital corpsman.
Garen told us it was his twin brother who was the reason he enlisted after college.
“My senior year of college, my twin brother served in the Marine Corps,” Garen said. “He aided in the evacuation of Kabul as a rifleman. I enlisted within a year after graduating college because I knew that if he had been injured over there, a hospital corpsman would’ve been helping him.”
Garen says winning the junior sailor award was his proudest accomplishment.
“My proudest accomplishment in the Navy so far is winning Blue Jacket of the Quarter and Junior Sailor of the quarter in the same year,” Garen said.
EMF-M consists of more than 400 sailors, including medical staff and support personnel. EMFs are staffed and sourced by Navy Medicine personnel from Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Commands (NMRTCs) at military treatment facilities across the country. The bulk of EMF-M’s personnel come from NMRTC Jacksonville and NH Jacksonville.
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.
The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.
According to Navy officials, “America is a maritime nation and for 250 years, America’s Warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom.”
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
Garen can take pride in serving America through military service.
“Serving in the Navy means a lot to me,” Garen said. “Having the ability to help sailors, and soon enough, Marines when I transfer, is a privilege that I am very fortunate to have.”
The Junior Sailor awards are given to an enlisted sailor in the Navy who is in the pay grade of E-4. The awards recognize sailors who demonstrate sustained superior performance, leadership and professionalism.
Garen, a 2018 graduate of Ardrey Kell High School and from the Univeristy of North Carolina Wilmington in 2022, joined the Navy two and a half years ago and now serves as a hospital corpsman.
Garen told us it was his twin brother who was the reason he enlisted after college.
“My senior year of college, my twin brother served in the Marine Corps,” Garen said. “He aided in the evacuation of Kabul as a rifleman. I enlisted within a year after graduating college because I knew that if he had been injured over there, a hospital corpsman would’ve been helping him.”
Garen says winning the junior sailor award was his proudest accomplishment.
“My proudest accomplishment in the Navy so far is winning Blue Jacket of the Quarter and Junior Sailor of the quarter in the same year,” Garen said.
EMF-M consists of more than 400 sailors, including medical staff and support personnel. EMFs are staffed and sourced by Navy Medicine personnel from Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Commands (NMRTCs) at military treatment facilities across the country. The bulk of EMF-M’s personnel come from NMRTC Jacksonville and NH Jacksonville.
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.
The U.S. Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.
According to Navy officials, “America is a maritime nation and for 250 years, America’s Warfighting Navy has sailed the globe in defense of freedom.”
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
Garen can take pride in serving America through military service.
“Serving in the Navy means a lot to me,” Garen said. “Having the ability to help sailors, and soon enough, Marines when I transfer, is a privilege that I am very fortunate to have.”