Commanding Officer

      Captain TaRail A. Vernon 

CAPT TaRail A. Vernon, a native of Asheville, NC, enlisted in the United States Navy in 1992 and was promptly selected for the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) at Naval Training Command in San Diego, CA. After completion, he graduated from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA with a bachelor’s degree and was commissioned in the United States Navy.  

CAPT Vernon began his naval career attending Supply Corps School (1998) in Athens, GA and then shifted his interest to the medical field to care for those in need. He attended the accelerated nursing program at Norfolk State University (NSU) in Norfolk, VA on nights and weekends and received a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 2003. CAPT Vernon continued his studies and was selected for Duty Under Instruction (DUINS) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where he graduated in 2010 with a Master of Science in adult critical care. In 2015, he earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Duke University.  

CAPT Vernon is a self-directed and unparalleled leader and clinician demonstrating sustained superior performance. Operationally, he served as the Disbursing Officer/Sales Officer, USS Kauffman (FFG 59), 1998-2001; Critical Care Nurse, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), 2013-2015; and Director of Nursing Services at NATO Role 3 MMU in Afghanistan in 2019 to lead 21 nurses in trauma care.   

His shore duty assignments include Material Processing Center Officer, Defense Distribution Depot Norfolk Virginia (DDNV), 2001-2004; Intensive Care Unit (ICU) staff nurse and Assistant Department Head, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP), 2004-2008; Clinical Nurse Specialist and Department Head of 5 Center, a multi-disease unit at one of the nation’s largest and most renowned military medical center, National Naval Medical Center, currently known as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda (WRNMMC), 2010-2013; Assistant Nurse Manager of the Critical Care Unit, Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in 2015-2017, where he was assigned to various leadership capacities and became a trained Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Coordinator responsible for policy, procedures, training new PICC nurses, and the maintenance and management of all PICC lines seven days a week; serving in dual capacities as the Department Head of the Multi-Service Ward supervising the delivery of care on a 29-bed unit and the Associate Director for Nursing Services (ADNS) covering five in-patient units, Business Manager, Department Head for Internal Medicine Department and six Specialty Clinics managing access to care, U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa (USNHO), 2017-2020;  and Associate Director of Primary Care and Branch Clinics (ADPC), hand selected as the interim Director of Public Health Services (DPHS) and Director Warfighter Optimization (DWO), Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, 2020-2022. As DPHS, he successfully led the critical inspections from MEDIG, Joint Commission, and OSHA.  Additionally, he was essential to the active-duty mandatory vaccination implementation within the Hampton Roads area.  From 2022-2024, CAPT Vernon served as Executive Officer, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Charleston, South Carolina leading the completion of a 25-million-dollar facility project, implementation of MHS GENESIS, initiation of a partnership with the Veteran Affairs (VA) to offer clinical sustainment, and numerous varying command accomplishments.  Currently, CAPT Vernon is serving as the Commanding Officer of U.S. Naval Hospital/NMRTC Sigonella to include the Flight Line Clinic located on NAS II, Branch Medical Clinic Bahrain, and Branch Clinic Souda Bay, Greece.  

His decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Joint Commendation Service Award (two awards), Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (four awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (two awards), National Defense (two awards), Surface Warfare Supply Corps Officer (SWSCO) pin, and various unit and service awards.