His journey took him from chasing championships to chasing vital signs, as Chief Hospital Corpsman Adrian Paschal shifted from athlete to servicemember, finding a new way to compete, this time against time itself.

From the time Paschal could first dribble a ball, he saw basketball as his ticket to rising from humble beginnings to a life filled with athletic adoration, dream fulfilment, and global honor. For years, his NBA dream seemed well within his reach. The wins, the long hours of training, his nationwide reputation, and the interest of coaches leading to scholarships, all pointed to toward a future built under bright arena lights. But life with its unexpected turns, had other plans, plans that would lead him away from the hardwood and onto a path he never could have imagined.

It was during his senior year in high school when a recruiter stopped by one of his classes to present the various Navy career and educational opportunities. “I brushed it off because I was going into the league,” said Paschal. Despite multiple visits and interactions with Paschal, recruiters were unable to spark his interest.

Upon graduating, Paschal moved on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on a basketball scholarship. With bright eyes and high hopes, Paschal began school, only to be derailed by family struggles, challenges heavy enough to force him to take a leave of absence. Basketball, once his driving passion, had to take a backseat.


During the next four months, those difficulties cost him his scholarship for the year, a loss he never wanted to face. In that moment of uncertainty, he turned to a recruiter who previously offered a different path: the chance to play basketball for the United States Naval Academy (USNA).

“I went to the Naval Academy, and it was nothing like I thought. Once I found out what was required during a plebe year, I decided to take a different path. I was told that everything was controlled. You couldn’t have a girlfriend, visitor, or even a job,” explained Paschal.

Paschal decided the USNA wasn’t the right fit and sought to leave. After a period of tough debate and negotiation, he was presented an option which would help the Navy recoup some of its time back. “I joined the Navy under a special pilot program for 15 months. I received a $5,000 bonus and was guaranteed Fleet Marine Force “C” School,” Paschal stated. Although he admitted he was confused about the message, the part about the money was loud and clear.

After finishing the program, Paschal was required to fulfill an eight-year commitment in the Navy Reserve or continue on the active-duty track. “I tried to do the reserves, but I didn’t like it because it was interrupting my life. Eventually, I went to the recruiter and ask if I could go full-fledge active-duty. The Navy was downsizing, but they let me back in and I got to continue as a corpsman,” he said.

Paschal headed to bootcamp, and for the first time, donned the official Navy bootcamp uniform. “I remember thinking, this is going to be my life, for the rest of my life,” he said.

After bootcamp, in 2005, he went straight into Hospital Corpsman “A” School. “Back then, they were sending all the males with the Marines. So, when I got my orders, I saw that I was going to Bethesda, Maryland, on a temporary assignment for 40 days. Then, I was supposed to go to Field Medical Service School (FMSS) to be a corpsman with the 1st Battalion 6 Marines Regiment Camp Lejeune,” said Paschal.

Paschal never made it to his ultimate duty station with the Marines. During FMSS he suffered a torn meniscus that altered his course.

Over the years Paschal sharpened his readiness through smaller missions, online study, Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) trainings, and applied knowledge in hospitals. Now attached to the 4th Medical Battalion Surgical Company Bravo in Newport News Virginia, the time had come for him to exercise those skills on the battlefield. “We received a Warning Order, which is an order of issue from a higher authority telling a command to begin initial preparations for deployment,” he explained.

With an increased emphasis on trauma skills, Paschal’s unit was sent to Hospital Trauma Training at Los Angeles Trauma, where there is a high volume of traumatic patients.

Soon after, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paschal received word that he would be deploying to Iraq with Navy Expeditionary Medical Unit 10-Gulf (NEMU 10G), Rotation 9 (Roto 9). Their first order of business was at the Navy Expeditionary Medical Training Institute at Camp Pendleton, California for two weeks. “It was the first training of its kind. We were assessed in an Operational Readiness Evaluation, which demonstrated our ability to operate in a field hospital. The training was extensive. We were assessed on everything from communication skills, the security measures of receiving a patient on the flightlines, unexploded ordinance (UXO) sweeps, and triage procedures,” he said.

First order of business in this training was to join forces with the Seabees and build a fully functional field hospital without any outside resources, in record time. Paschal said, “After the hospital was built, we had to establish different sections within the hospital that would be capable of taking on casualties. The main portion of the field hospital was called the Patient Administration Department, which notified everyone in the hospital that we had a casualty enroute, what to expect with that casualty (medical conditions), and we tracked the movements of patients throughout the facility.”

Effective communication was a huge part of obtaining certification from the evaluation. The Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) had a heavy hand in this training. “BUMED would increase the number of traumatic patients, speed up the time to treat said patients, test us on our communication skills, and quiz us on the whereabouts of patients, creating a realistic combat medical environment,” said Paschal.

Upon successfully completing every phase of the training, the unit secured its Tier 1 certification, which meant they had to be ready to deploy within 10 days.

Paschal began his mission with a quick stop in Virginia, then on to Fort Bliss, Texas, where he and his unit were required to undergo additional training. “Fort Bliss was a simulated environment of what to expect in Iraq. We had to go through TCCC again and recertify our weapons qualifications. We were in the field all day, we did a lot of marksmanship training, patient assessments, and securing perimeters and locations,” said Paschal. “Basically, we lived like we were on deployment.”

With their next destination being in Kuwait, Paschal recalled his initial feeling upon arrival. “I remember thinking, nobody’s supposed to be in this part of the world. By 3 a.m., the sun is already blazing, troops and counterparts are up eating breakfast, then sleep throughout the day,” he explained, still astonished. “We spent two weeks there, getting conditioned, processing paperwork for in-country tracking, and we sat-in on lectures that provided details of what to expect in Iraq.”

There they were: fully trained, all paperwork squared away and their ultimate destination ready to be reached, when out of nowhere, blaring sounds of alarms stopped everybody in their tracks! “Our Officer in Charge (OIC) bellowed, ‘Everybody, get into full battle rattle right now!’ What we didn’t know then was that intelligence received warning about our plane being a target. This is when it got real to me,” said Paschal.

As they boarded the plane, a C-130 transport plane, geared up with weapons loaded, nervous, uncomfortable, and hot, Paschal began to feel the physical strain on his body. He said, “I almost had a heat stroke! While my OIC was talking to me, he noticed I was becoming incoherent. They started removing my clothes to help me cool down.”

Crisis averted, they soon landed in Iraq, their home base for the next seven to nine months. Because Roto 9 was the relief for Roto 8, most of Roto 9 had to camp in numbered tents outside of “Camp Danger (their main camping grounds)” for three days until Roto 8 finished processing out.

“My job was the triage officer. So, when casualties got off the bird, and passed security’s UXO sweep, it was partly my job to designate patients to the appropriate area. So, the things we learned at Fort Bliss, like learning how to properly triage, receiving and processing fallen angels, etc., prepared us for this,” explained Paschal.

With tensions high between the U.S. and Iran, the unit remained at a constant state of high alert. And there was no shortage of incoming casualties.

Paschal recalls his first hands-on case in a war zone, which required him to use skills he hadn’t practiced on a patient in some time. He said, “A surgeon selected me to assist with a casualty from special operations that needed emergency surgery. I was directed to provide sutures, something I hadn’t done in a long time and never imaged doing in that environment. At first I was nervous, but the nerves quickly gave way to confidence. Once we were done, we got him settled into recovery while he waited to be transported.”

“The feeling of being a part of saving his life, whether it was my hands-on application or providing medication in real-time, was empowering,” shared Paschal.

Within six to seven months, President Donald Trump started pulling troops out. Paschal received notice that he would be going home around his six and a half month mark. “After leaving Iraq, we went back to Kuwait to check out and for a time of decompression and recovery. They try to make your week there really enjoyable, so they have the best chow hall, American restaurants and resources, before returning back to the states, and ultimately home,” said Paschal.

“I was ready to go home, but once I got there, a deep sense of guilt weighed on me for a long time because I felt like I’d left a job unfinished, and troops behind,” he expressed. “I also had a lot to deal with in my personal life when I got home. I had a really hard time transitioning back into normal, everyday life.”

Though the road was difficult, Paschal managed to readjust, enhancing his skills and readiness while guiding junior sailors.

“A lot of my preparation now is focused on mental preparedness and training my replacement. I ensure that the information being put out, is correct and up to date. Also, I jump on any opportunity I get to talk to a sailor about hospital corpsman personal qualifications standards because it will carry them throughout their career,” said Paschal. “Additionally, I make sure to get my hands dirty from time to time, for practical knowledge.”

A warfighter mindset is developed over time. Until a sailor is tested, there are many ways to prepare and strengthen it.

Paschal said, “My role is to ensure that every corpsman I encounter embraces the warfighter mindset by sharpening their skills, starting with teaching them how to conduct a proper head-to-toe exam. This is a vital skill, taught to me by a master chief as a junior sailor early on in my career at a previous command, which lays the foundation for all medical skills, in my opinion.”

Everyone joins the military for different reasons, but it’s the effort you put in that shapes what you get out. This a belief Paschal holds dear, and says, “Give the military 100 percent! If you put in the work, you will get everything you came in for!”