By Dusty Good,
Navy Office of Community Outreach
JACKSONVILLE, FL – A 1989 Dillon High School graduate and Dillon, South Carolina native is serving at Naval Hospital Jacksonville and Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Jacksonville.
Jackson credits their hometown for giving opportunities they would not have had otherwise experienced that has helped in serving with the Navy.
“My father raising five children and working hard to provide for the family, and my mom being tough on us, was a huge part of setting me up for success in my military career,” said Jackson.
Jackson is a 2007 graduate of Columbia College with an associates degree in general studies.
Naval Hospital Jacksonville and Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command (MNRTC) Jacksonville deliver quality health care, in an integrated system of readiness and health. Naval Hospital Jacksonville includes five branch health clinics across Florida and Georgia. It serves 163,000 active-duty and retired sailors, Marines, soldiers, airmen, guardsmen, and their families, including about 83,000 patients who are enrolled with a primary care manager.
Jackson is now a part of a long-standing tradition of serving the Navy our nation needs.
“I saw the opportunity in the Navy to make a better life for myself,” said Jackson. “I wanted something stable and be able to see the world.”
Jackson said they are proud to be part of a warfighting team that readily defends America at all times.
“My proudest accomplishment is meeting my wife and having my daughter,” said Jackson. “I am also very proud of achieving master chief and having great friends and mentors along my career.”
Jackson is playing an important part in America’s focus on rebuilding military readiness, strengthening alliances and reforming business practices in support of the National Defense Strategy.
“Our priorities center on people, capabilities and processes, and will be achieved by our focus on speed, value, results and partnerships,” said Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer. “Readiness, lethality and modernization are the requirements driving these priorities.”
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon capital assets, Jackson and others know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.
“Our 2,400 staff (military, civilian, contract, and volunteer) are integral to keeping our Navy and Marine Corps family ready, healthy, and on the job,” said Capt. Matthew Case, Naval Hospital Jacksonville commander and NMRTC Jacksonville commanding officer.
“Serving in the Navy gives me the opportunity to take care of sailors,” said Jackson. “It’s all about taking care of sailors and mentoring junior officers for the next step of their career. I’ve accomplished everything God has set out before me. Also, I get to work with great Commanding and Executive officers.”
