Personnel from the Navy Entomology Center of Excellence (NECE), Jacksonville, Fla., recently hosted 40 visitors from North Florida Educational Institute (NFEI) Jacksonville, and Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC) cadets from Upson-Lee High School, Thomaston, Ga.

Both groups enjoyed an educational presentation, learning about NECE’s mission to protect deployed forces from vector-borne diseases and threats. The groups also explored NECE’s facilities, including a visit of NECE’s archives, which includes a reference collection of medically important organisms from around the world.

“The students from North Florida Educational Institute were excited to learn more about what opportunities the Navy offers,” said NECE Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Adrian Weldon. “Many of the students want to join the Navy as enlisted Sailors or officers, but aren’t yet sure of what kind of job they want to do. We’re extremely fortunate and grateful for this chance to teach them that Navy entomology and Navy medicine are exciting options for those wanting to support the United States Navy.”

Students also visited the training lab, where they had a hands-on experience examining medically important specimens under digital and stereo dissecting microscopes. The NJROTC students from Upson-Lee High School were additionally shown new technology in NECE’s fight against vector-borne diseases, such as DNA sequencing equipment.

"It's always interesting discussing 21st century entomology with young adults because they've grown up with technology at their fingertips their entire lives,” said Lt. Edward Traczyk, department head of NECE’s Research and Development Department. “You get a lot of interest in concepts such as DNA sequencing and the amount of data it takes to store a single genome's information. These seemingly mind-boggling ideas are something younger generations are naturally intrigued by, rather than turned away from.”

Impressed by their experience, the Upson-Lee High School NJROTC class’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Jim Jarvis, awarded NECE the Upson-Lee High School coin.

NECE is a field activity of the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC), Portsmouth, Va. NMCPHC develops and shapes public health for the U.S. Navy and Marines Corps through health surveillance, epidemiology and analysis, disease and injury prevention, and public health consultation. Learn more by going to www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil. Follow NMCPHC on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/NavyAndMarineCorpsPublicHealthCenter http://twitter.com/nmcphc and https://www.instagram.com/nmcphc/