A graduate of Duke University recently took command of U.S. Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (NMRTC) Sigonella, Italy.
Capt. TaRail Vernon, who earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Duke in 2015, took over as commanding officer of NMRTC Sigonella, U.S. Naval Hospital (NH) Sigonella, and Branch Clinic Souda Bay and Bahrain during a ceremony in June.
Vernon enlisted in the Navy in 1992 and was selected for the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) program, which allowed Vernon to earn a bachelor’s degree from Armstrong Atlantic State University and commission as a naval officer. Vernon’s naval career began in the supply field but later shifted to medicine.
Vernon, a native of Asheville, North Carolina, also earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Norfolk State University in 2003 and a master’s degree in adult critical care from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2010.
“The selection to be a commanding officer is one that is a culmination of years of hard work and dedication of serving and leading,” said Vernon. “The amount of trust placed in a commanding officer is immense and it is a duty that I do not take lightly.”
“It is a profound honor to lead the sailors and civilians of NMRTC/NH Sigonella, and Branch Clinics Bahrain and Souda Bay,” said Vernon. “I feel blessed to serve in this capacity and hope to serve as a role model to junior sailors and maybe even inspire someone from my hometown to join the world’s finest navy. Each day I wake up in sunny Sicily and get to serve alongside Navy Medicine’s best. Every day is a great day for me.”
