FALLS CHURCH, Va. - For one U.S. Navy Sailor, the path to medicine didn’t begin in a lab or a lecture hall – it started in a recruiter’s office with a leap of faith.

Armed with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and a passion for hands-on work, Ensign Alexander Brady, a native of Gering, Nebraska, initially joined the Navy as a hospital corpsman and serving with the U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED). At the time, medical school was more of a distant dream than a goal. With mentorship, hard work and an openness to change, that idea became a no-fail mission.

“When I first enlisted, I wanted to be an advanced technical field corpsman or work in special warfare,” Brady explained. “Ending up at BUMED for my first tour gave me a lot of connections and mentors who wanted to see me succeed and get me to medical school.”

Growing up in a large family with a state trooper father and a stay-at-home mother, Brady was raised with discipline and service as part of his life. High school cross-country taught him the value of self-improvement, and the physical and mental changes from testing his own limits planted the seeds for greater challenges ahead.


Brady was serving as a member of the Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) team as a tuition accessions clerk when he received the news that he would be joining the newest group of students to start medical school in the fall at the Uniformed Services University, where his new goal is to become a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery or vascular surgery.

“I like to joke around and say that I’m gunning to be the surgeon general someday, but it really is about the impact that my service can have on others,” Brady said. “This opportunity isn’t just a career change - it’s a real calling for me, to be a leader, to heal other service members and make a difference where it matters most.”

Brady’s ambition is shaped not only by his compassion for wounded service members but by a steady-handed background in welding and mechanics – skills that he hopes will translate into the intricate precision of surgery.

For junior Sailors who may be looking into commissioning, Brady offers simple advice, “Be open and adaptable. The path you start on might not be where you end up – but that doesn’t mean it’s the wrong one.”

Navy and Marine Corps healthcare professionals are distinguished by six distinct corps. Each corps is comprised of personnel who specialize in particular health care fields, such as nursing or dentistry. Together, these corps represent Navy Medicine’s active duty and reserve service members who ensure the health and well-being of every Sailor, Marine and Navy Medicine beneficiary around the world. The Navy Medicine corps work side by side with Navy civilians who supplement our military medical force in all areas from administrative work to medical professionals.

Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea and ashore.