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NEWS | March 4, 2020

Navy Medicine unveils logos to support new command structure

By U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Public Affairs U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery Public Affairs

Navy Medicine unveiled a series of unifying logos March 3 to support the establishment of more than 60 new medical commands.

In October 2019, the U.S. Navy established Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Commands and Units, or NMRTC/Us, to focus on readiness of the medical professionals serving at military treatment facilities around the world.

The new commands were established as part of the transfer of administration, direction and control of naval hospitals and clinics to the Defense Health Agency, or DHA.

The NMRTC/Us ensure the Navy retains command and control of its uniformed medical force. The new NMRTC/U commands report to Naval Medical Forces Atlantic, or NMFL, which was formerly Navy Medicine East and Naval Medical Forces Pacific, or NMFP, formerly Navy Medicine West. These renamed echelon 3 commands will continue to report to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, or BUMED.

In addition, Navy Medicine established Naval Medical Forces Support Command, or NMFSC, to take the place of Navy Medicine Education, Training and Logistics Command, or NMETLC, in order to provide the best medically trained, educated, and logistically prepared team to support the warfighter.

Each of these new commands will have their own logo that nests within the higher headquarters logo to show that while they are individual units, Navy Medicine is all one team working together to support warfighter readiness.

Navy Medicine also updated its motto to “Medical Power for Naval Superiority” to concisely communicate the command’s highest priority of keeping service members ready to support the Navy and Marine Corps mission.

In these nested logos, the color palette selected brings in blues for water (Navy), green for land (Marine Corps), scarlet for both the Marine Corps and Red Cross/medical care, and gold for Naval heritage. All elements of the logos, from the colors to the symbols, were selected to reinforce and strengthen the Navy Medicine identity.

The dual image of the fouled anchor and Caduceus reflects Navy Medicine’s mission of medical care at sea and for Sailors, the gold outer rope is a nod to Naval tradition and the red cross is an internationally recognized symbol of medical care.

A center circle on subordinate command logos is symbolic of the globe and a reminder that Navy Medicine is a force globally. Inside that circle, each command will be able to highlight their own local symbolism and tradition, while still being identified as Navy Medicine.

The use of consistent logos and emblems is designed to further establish Navy Medicine as a cohesive team of healthcare professionals across all the Navy, always ready to provide medial power to save lives in the battlespace

The Navy Medicine logo consists of several key elements:

1. Red Cross. Internationally recognized as a symbol of medical care representing the Navy Medicine mission. Long associated with medicine, blood/life, healing, and blood stripe on the Marine Corps Uniform.

2. Golden Rope. The gold outer rope is our bond to Naval tradition and is a symbol of Navy officers representing their personal and professional integrity.

3. Serpent, Caduceus and Anchor. On the foreground, the serpent wraps around the shank of an anchor producing the dual image of an “Anchor” and a “Caduceus.” The Anchor has long been a symbol of the U.S. Navy. The use of the entwined serpent recalls the Caduceus (staff), an ancient symbol of healing.

4. Navy Medicine Name/Tagline. Medical Power for Naval Superiority.

5. Blue & Green Quadrants. Have dual impact, representing both land and sea, as well as a symbol of Navy and Marine Corps teamwork that forms the force that ensures naval maritime superiority.

6. Inner Red & Gold Rings. Official USMC colors and enduring support to their mission.

7. White Type & Icons. Represents the Navy’s focus on mission, purity and unity.

8. Gold Stars. Appearing in the Flagship logo only, represent the Navy’s tradition of navigation using the North Star for guidance.