The Navy Entomology Center of Excellence (NECE) hosted a special, by-request tour of the NECE installation for distinguished military dignitaries on Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida, April 18, 2023.

This group was composed of 19 senior military officers from their respective country and led by Lt. Cmdr. Greg Emde, attaché affairs liaison officer from the Pentagon. Countries represented by the tour group included: Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.



“This tour was an unprecedented opportunity for NECE to strengthen our interoperability and communication with allied forces around the world,” said Cmdr. Ian Sutherland, Officer in Charge of NECE. “Given the rising concern for future conflicts and climate change, it is vital now more than ever to shape the battle space of tomorrow by forging relationships today.”

During the tour, the military attachés learned about NECE’s mission to protect deployed forces from vector-borne diseases and related threats. The group toured a number of NECE’s facilities, including NECE’s Hirst Entomology and Vector Ecology (HIVE) reference collection of over 250,000 medically important specimens from around the world, named after Lt. Cmdr. John M. Hirst, NECE’s first Officer in Charge. The visit also included the training lab, where they were given a unique experience handling and examining medically important specimens under digital and stereo dissecting microscopes.

“The tour of NECE was extremely valuable and provided a thorough overview of NECE's unique DoD mission,” said Cmdr. Julie Schaub, health security cooperation officer for U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Surgeon Office. “In my current job, I work with partner nations to identify subject matter expert exchanges with the goal of increasing interoperability. With this broader knowledge of NECE's mission and capabilities, I am able to communicate more opportunities for health security exchanges.”

At the end of the tour, exclusive demonstrations were performed for the visiting military personnel which highlighted how Navy Entomology is focused on forward deployed support. Visitors were also able to observe real-time research being conducted at NECE, assessing the efficacy of various insecticide-treated unforms being evaluated under semi-field conditions.



“The technologies being improved to increase force health protection continue to amaze me,” said Emde. “Especially those technologies related to vector-borne diseases and NECE does an excellent job underscoring this importance.”

NECE is the Navy and Marine Corps’ Center of Excellence for operational entomology located at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, FL. NECE’s unique DoD mission is to develop and evaluate novel products, pesticides, and technologies to better protect deployed forces from vectors of disease. NECE also provides operational medical entomology and pest management training to DOD military and civilian personnel and is the program manager for all Navy shipboard pest management. NECE plays a key role in supporting national strategic interests though engagement and exchange with foreign health and military partners.