SILVER SPRING, Md. – Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC) held a change of command ceremony in the Daniel K. Inouye building on the Forest Glen Annex on 11 Aug.

Capt. William Deniston was relieved as commander, NMRC, by Capt. Franca Jones in an official ceremony in front of distinguished guests, family, friends and shipmates. Special guests included Rear Adm. Guido F. Valdes, commander, Naval Medical Forces Pacific, who presided over the ceremony.

“Leading a research command such as this one demands exceptional commitment and a deep understanding of our military's unique challenges,” Valdes remarked, “Medical research is critical to the success of the fleet and marine force, enhances the ability to meet operational readiness requirements, and fosters new opportunities to succeed as both health care providers and warfighters.”

Deniston welcomed Jones, who had previously served as executive officer for NMRC, back to the command and expressed enthusiasm for her tenure as commander. He also remarked upon the many challenges NMRC has overcome, and the command’s success in more closely aligning to the line.



“There have been some major shifts in the past two years, but we in the Naval Medical Research and Development enterprise have maintained the ability to support ourselves,” Deniston said.

Deniston’s tenure as NMRC commander saw an increase in headquarters support for the enterprise commands, an expansion of the enterprise presence in media and at international conferences, and an alignment to the Naval warfighter through operationally oriented research and medical surveillance.

“We have an incredibly important mission,” Jones added, in her own remarks, “to field medical solutions to the fleet and Marine Corps for expeditionary operations in all domains – undersea, on land, in the air, and in space. As an enterprise, we can accomplish this mission better than any one command.”

Jones previously served as commanding officer for U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) SOUTH, another command with the enterprise. Under her direction, the command continued surveillance activities and outbreak support for diseases such as avian influenza, H1N1 influenza and dengue fever. Additionally, NAMRU SOUTH experts assisted Peruvian and other partner region militaries through educational sessions during Continuing Promise 2022 activities in Honduras and the Defense Institute for Medical Operations course held in Lima in 2023.



“Capt. Deniston has established a great foundation for our future,” Jones said. “I ask all of you to join me in building on that foundation to guarantee the success of NMRC and the enterprise in supporting the Navy and Navy Medicine.”

Formerly known as Naval Medical Research Center, NMRC supports the Navy, Marine Corps and joint U.S. warfighters through research of infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology and behavioral sciences.

The enterprise, led by NMRC, is engaged in a broad spectrum of activity from basic science in the laboratory to field studies in austere and remote areas of the world to investigations in operational environments. In support of the Navy, Marine Corps, and joint U.S. warfighters, researchers study infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology, and behavioral sciences.