United States Naval Hospital Yokosuka Japan with its eight branch clinics are
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
medical treatment facilities catering to the medical needs of eligible Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, Airmen, family members, U.S. government employees, retired military service members and other eligible beneficiaries of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces on mainland Japan, Korea and Diego Garcia. The core hospital is located on board
Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists ...
with branch clinics serving
Naval Air Facility Atsugi
is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean and once housed the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5), which dep ...
, Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji, Commander Fleet Activities Chinhae Korea, Naval Support Activity Diego Garcia,
Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni
is a United States Marine Corps air station located in the Nishiki river delta, southeast of Iwakuni Station in the city of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.
History
The Japanese government bought a large portion of what is today MCAS I ...
and
Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo
U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy base, in Sasebo, Nagasaki, Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United State ...
.
U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka staff is composed of active duty service members, U.S. Civil Servants (USCS), contract employees and Japan Master Labor Contract (MLC) employees.
History
The core hospital (headquarters of U.S. Naval Hospital, Yokosuka) is located on the grounds of the original hospital compound built in 1881 for the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
. Earthquake and fire destroyed those buildings in 1923. The Imperial Japanese Navy rebuilt the hospital in February 1931 as a medical center and training school. At the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, American Occupational Forces used the facility as a 250-bed hospital dispensary. On September 11, 1950, at the beginning of the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, the hospital was established.
The command received its first Navy Unit Commendation for treatment of over 5,800 casualties from the Korean War. A second Navy Unit Commendation was awarded for services rendered during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. In 1973, the base was revitalized with the arrival of the aircraft carrier
USS ''Midway'' and the start of the Overseas Family Residency Program. Due to the increased importance of the Middle East and Far East theatres, a new hospital facility was built in 1980 and opened on February 10, 1981.
Shortly before the hospital opened, the command received a Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal for support provided to burn patients from the Marine Corps Training Camp, Camp Fuji, Japan, in October 1979. A second Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal was awarded for superb medical support provided between July 1986 and July 1988. A third Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal was awarded in July 1994 for support provided to victims of an explosion and fire aboard USS ''Midway'' in 1990 and victims of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the
Republic of Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
in 1991.
In 1999, the Navy Medicine Inspector General recognized USNH Yokosuka as a benchmark command in customer relations and marketing. USNH Yokosuka opened a joint Wellness Center at the Fleet Recreation Center in Yokosuka and the world's first Women, Infants and Children Overseas Office in 2001.
After September 11, 2001 the command reengineered operational readiness training. Throughout 2002, the command strengthened force health protection for the Forward-Deployed Naval Forces and those who support them while simultaneously improving Family Centered Care. In 2003 the command opened a Stork's Nest to assist pregnant women and their families throughout mainland Japan. USNH Yokosuka provided support to
USS ''Kitty Hawk'''s medical department during and after Operation Iraqi Freedom.
In addition to eligible beneficiaries, U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka continues to support Overseas Contingency Operations and humanitarian missions worldwide.
Capabilities and Services
U.S. Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, provides a comprehensive range of emergency, outpatient and inpatient care services to about 43,000 active duty personnel and authorized beneficiaries. With its regional Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS), USNH Yokosuka provides care to children with special needs at every
military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...
in mainland
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.
Notable personnel
*
John S. Meyer, physician
References
* Naval Hospital core site
"History, Mission, and Command"Sept. 10, 2010.
External links
*
{{coord, 35, 17, 11.62, N, 139, 40, 16.7, E, region:JP, display=title
Hospital buildings completed in 1881
Government buildings completed in 1881
Hospital buildings completed in 1931
Government buildings completed in 1931
Hospital buildings completed in 1980
Government buildings completed in 1980
United States military hospitals
Medical installations of the United States Navy
Hospitals established in 1881
1881 establishments in Japan