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During the holiday season, many people donated their time, money and services to help those less fortunate, but the Sailors assigned to Navy Expeditionary Medical Unit 14 believe giving is a year-round mission.
In recognition of their efforts, the Sailors assigned to NEMU 14 were presented with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award-Gold Level recently for the unit’s sustained commitment to volunteer service while deployed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
The President’s Volunteer Service Award is an initiative of the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. It was established to recognize the valuable contributions volunteers make to their communities and set the standard for volunteer service.
There are different levels of recognition that can be given to individuals or groups for their community service. The Gold Level award, achieved by NEMU 14, is given to groups that log more than 1,000 hours of service in a 12-month period.
Since NEMU 14 arrived in Germany in February 2013, this dedicated team logged more than 4,000 volunteer hours in just six months. Fully integrated into an Army military treatment facility, their spirit of volunteerism is tangible evidence of the LRMC’s motto, “Selfless Service,” and has carried on a tradition demonstrated by previous NEMUs who have received the Presidential Volunteer Service Medal.
NEMU 14 focused most of its volunteer service on continuing the mission of care to the wounded warriors; however, they also participated in opportunities to help build community relations and pay tribute to service members from a different time.
Hospital Corpsman First Class Nicholas Kirk’s most memorable volunteer event occurred when a team of Sailors traveled to Clermont, Belgium, to provide support to the Remember Museum. The museum is dedicated to the memory of American warfighters who helped liberate Belgium during World War II. NEMU personnel cleaned artifacts for display and performed maintenance on the facility over a three-day period.
“It is through the generosity of friends like the NEMU personnel that efforts to perpetuate the realities of this time in their history are achieved,” said Marcel and Mathilde Schmetz, museum curators.
Sailors also demonstrate the spirit of selfless service by chaperoning wounded warriors on LRMC chaplain resiliency trips, serving meals at the USO Warrior Center and Fisher Houses, and handing out clothes to wounded warriors at the hospital’s Chaplain’s Closet. NEMU 14 personnel participated in the regional 2013 Viking Challenge, a 24-hour walkathon that raised more than $84,000 for charitable organizations in the KMC. The unit took top fundraising honors as volunteers logged more than 450 miles to raise money for the Fisher Houses located on the LRMC compound.
“Selfless Service” is one of the Army’s core values. It is something larger than just one person. It is the commitment of each team member to go a little farther, endure a little longer, and look a little closer to see how he or she can add to the effort. NEMU 14 Sailors have truly embedded this core value into their way of life, taking this motto and making it their own.
As the NEMU carries on with its mission in this deployment, these personnel will continue to share their Navy spirit of selfless service both on and off duty to the community in which they live and work.
The NEMUs at Landstuhl have served wounded warriors in Germany for more than a decade and are made up predominantly of activated Navy Reservists. Their primary mission is to manage the medical air evacuation process for wounded service members coming from CENTCOM, EUCOM and AFRICOM areas of operation to the hospital for medical treatment.
They also coordinate the service members’ return to duty or evacuation stateside for further care. Additional NEMU personnel work throughout the hospital in areas such as the operating room, specialty clinics and pharmacy.
