The Wasp-Class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5) earned the Force Health and Wellness Unit Award for 2022. Also known as the “Green H,” the award recognizes and promotes general health, physical fitness, and mental readiness of Sailors assigned to Commander, U.S. Naval Surface Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet units.
USS Bataan has won the award consecutively for 10 years, with this being the 23rd win cumulatively in its 25 years of service. For the award, Bataan had to have a Health and Wellness Promotion program, designed to guide and encourage individuals to engage in healthy lifestyles, avoiding risky habits.
“This award, without a doubt, is a testament of the exceptional service of the medical department,” said Lt. Alejandro Gonzalez, USS Bataan’s medical administration officer. “It shows the dedication and passion of our corpsman and medical providers and their strong commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of Sailors and Marines embarked on Big 5.”
The ship also maintained an average of 92 and 95 percent for its medical and dental readiness respectively throughout the entirety of 2022, scoring well above the 75 percent qualifying score for the award.
In the most recent medical readiness inspection (MRI), the ship’s medical department scored a C-1, which translates to achieving a readiness status above 90 percent.
Overall, the ship scored well above the overall grading scores, receiving a 94 percent in total. Bataan’s scores proved they were capable of completing the challenges, but it had its hardships to overcome.
“This award’s greatest challenge is to maintain the standards of medical readiness, as it is a constant battle, or daily practice to ensure medical readiness in all areas, from maintaining supplies to immunizations, physical health assessments, health screening to dental readiness,” said Gonzales. “In other words, the ‘Green H’ is won every day that we see a patient, order medicine or supplies, or teach a wellness class to the crew.”
Gonzales believes this isn’t an award just for the medical department to be proud of, but for the command as a whole.
“This culture of excellence has resulted from a continuous effort of the medical department personnel and command’s leadership, from the commanding officer to division officers, department leading chief petty officers and leading petty officers promoting a safety culture at all levels,” said Gonzales.