Naval Dental Researcher, others honored during HJF Heroes of Military Medicine San Antonio Awards

Story by Burrell Parmer

Naval Medical Research Unit San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – (Oct. 17, 2024) –To bring the story of Military City USA’s unique military and civilian medical research and clinical care collaborations to national and global attention, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc. (HJF), hosted its 2024 Heroes of Military Medicine San Antonio Awards Program at The Red Berry Estate.

The event, in its third year, provided an opportunity to celebrate the Department of Defense (DoD) public-private partnerships within the city by recognizing five honorees and their selfless dedication to serving the nation’s wounded, ill, and injured military service members.

Those honored included U.S. Navy Cmdr. Rachel Werner of Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) San Antonio, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Luis Rohena of Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC, U.S. Air Force Maj. Theodore Hart of BAMC, and U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Travis Reyes.

“It is a real honor and privilege to host the annual Heroes of Military Medicine Awards,” said HJF President and CEO retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Joseph Caravalho Jr., MD, a former BAMC commanding general to the audience. “Our honorees have displayed excellence in their areas of expertise and were personally selected for recognition by their respective command leaders. Additionally, we will introduce you to a Marine corporal who through his strength and courage personifies what is possible assisted by outstanding medical professionals such as those who are honored today.”

Werner, who additionally serves as a staff head and neck pathologist at BAMC, was nominated for the award by NAMRU San Antonio Commanding Officer Capt. Jennifer Buechel and was introduced by Rear Adm. Walter Brafford, commander, Naval Medical Forces Development Command (NMFDC).

“I’m honored to be here today to introduce Cmdr. Rachel Werner and to be part of this ceremony to recognize her accomplishments for Military Medicine,” said Brafford, who also serves as the chief of the U.S. Navy Dental Corps. “In her current role as the deputy chief science director at the NAMRU San Antonio, CDR Werner oversees a $20 million annual research budget and leads a team of military and civilian principal investigators, improving the survival and safety of personnel across the Department of Defense. She continuously provides one-on-one support in project development and grant writing, including reviewing and ranking over 45 grant proposals for various funding opportunities from Defense Health Agency (DHA), Office of Naval Research (ONR), The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and numerous other sponsors.”

Werner, of Cocoa Beach, Fla., was greatly appreciative of HJF for taking the time and effort to recognize the contributions of military healthcare providers.

“I am grateful to my command’s former senior leadership, especially my prior chief science director, Dr. Sylvain Cardin, for taking me under his wing and changing the entire trajectory of my career. I also want to thank to my fellow healthcare researchers and providers, active duty and civilian alike, throughout DHA, for your incredible talents, collaborative efforts, and your passion for supporting our active duty and beneficiaries alike,” said Werner, who additionally serves as an assistant professor of Pathology at the Uniformed Services University and provides hands-on training to residents at BAMC and training in the development and execution of research projects for Air Force Postgraduate Dental School residents. “Finally, I say with a profound sense of awareness and gratitude, thank you to the mothers and fathers of our warfighters for trusting us, in every sense of the word, with the safety, the comfort, and the care of your children. Please know that we take this trust very seriously, and we remain forever focused on researching and providing the best possible ways to care for them on the battlefield and back home.”

Towards the conclusion of the program, attendees heard remarks from U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, commanding general, Training and Education Command (TECOM), who served as the tribute speaker for Reyes.

“Military medical professions have saved the lives of many of my Marines and Sailors over my time in service. For that, I am profoundly and internally grateful and I will certainly will never be able to repay you,” said Watson. “All the honorees tonight are truly impressive and are worthy of recognition, our thanks, and our congratulations. I believe tonight, they really saved the best for last and I have the great honor of speaking to you about a truly extraordinary human, a U.S. Marine by the name of Cpl. Travis Reyes.”

Reyes, of Oxon Hill, Md., was an observer/aerial gunner on a MV-22 Osprey training flight that crashed on the Tiwi Islands off the coast of Darwin, Australia on Aug. 27, 2023. Requiring immediate intensive care, he was treated at Royal Darwin Hospital and subsequently transferred to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, where he spent approximately two months in the Intensive Care Unit.

In a groundbreaking effort, the Department of Defense’s only Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) team collaborated with the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) Burn Center to orchestrate a complex retrieval mission to bring Reyes to BAMC once he was in better conditions. This mission was the longest ECMO retrieval in history and marked the first ECMO unit circuit change performed in a moving aircraft.

“I am so grateful to be standing before you today and receiving this award,” said Reyes. “There were many moments when I thought I would never make it, but because of my amazing support system and astonishing medical teams, I am able to be here in front of you all today.”

He thanked all who assisted in saving his life and in his rehabilitation. Additionally, he thanked his previous unit, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 363 (Reinforced) for their continuous support of his wife and the Wounded Warrior Battalion for their support and guidance.

NAMRU San Antonio’s mission is to conduct gap driven combat casualty care, craniofacial, and directed energy research to improve survival, operational readiness, and safety of Department of Defense (DoD) personnel engaged in routine and expeditionary operations.

It is one of the leading research and development laboratories for the U.S. Navy under the DoD and is one of eight subordinate research commands in the global network of laboratories operating under the Naval Medical Research Command in Silver Spring, Md.