Singapore –
Capt. Franka Jones, the Navy's top researcher and commander of Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC), visited Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) Indo-Pacific from July 15-26, touring Southeast Asia with the command's leadership.
Jones oversees eight commands that make up the Naval Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NMR&D) enterprise, which includes three overseas commands, including NAMRU INDO PACIFIC, whose headquarters in Singapore is the hub of sprawling regional operations. With contingent forces in Southeast Asia and research operations throughout Indo-Pacific Command's AOR, NAMRU INDO PACIFIC plays a critical role in global health security with its mission to monitor and characterize emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases of military and public health importance and collaborate with host nations to develop mitigation strategies.
The international tour began in Hanoi, Vietnam, where Jones met with the command's senior leadership, the NAMRU INDO PACIFIC Mission Chief in Vietnam, and regional partners. Over the past decade in Vietnam, the command has partnered with local government agencies to conduct infectious disease research with a focus on malaria, influenza and respiratory pathogens.
“This research has played a key role in guiding malaria control and elimination policies in the country,” explained Lt. Col. Jose Garcia, director of NAMRU's Indo-Pacific branch in Vietnam. “Going forward, NAMRU's Indo-Pacific branch aims to expand research and partnerships to further advance military health protection policies in the region.”
“It was very important to have Capt. Jones in Vietnam,” Garcia added. “It's very important for us at the NAMRU chapter to showcase the work that's going on in Vietnam and introduce her to our local partners.”
As the company’s top scientist, Jones is keenly aware that NMR&D’s overseas command missions impact military health protection and readiness.
“We rely on strong partnerships with our host nation partners and work closely with them to carry out this work in their countries,” Jones said. “Facetime with our partners is essential to maintaining and advancing our partnerships and continuing to collaborate on infectious disease research that benefits the health of the United States and our partner nations.”
After Vietnam, the tour continued on to Malaysia with its first stop in Kuala Lumpur, where Jones' group met with partners from the University of Malaysia and the Malaysian military. Jones and the group also visited Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo, home to the University Malaysia Sabah.
Lt. Col. Dawn Weir leads NAMRU Indo-Pacific operations in Malaysia. “As director of NAMRU Indo-Pacific Malaysia, my mission is to execute and shape the CO's vision for all command activities in Malaysia, including research and international engagements,” she says. “A key aspect of this role is to foster and strengthen strategic partnerships across Malaysia and leverage these partnerships to improve medical readiness and public health in partner nations.”
NAMRU INDO PACIFIC has been based in Malaysia since 2009 and has strengthened its partnerships and research activities over the past few years. These partnerships include universities and the Malaysian military, and Jones and his staff visited these locations and met with representatives during the tour.
“Having our senior leaders here in the country allows them to see firsthand the strong relationships we have with our host nation partners,” Weir said. “More importantly, I believe these visits demonstrate to our host nation partners the importance of our collaborative relationships and our commitment to continuing to work together to enhance regional health security.”
NAMRU INDO PACIFIC employs one active medical researcher in both Vietnam and Malaysia who works with local partners and oversees infectious disease-focused projects. Through its headquarters in Singapore, the command can coordinate funding, logistics and administrative support.
Jones' final stop was Singapore, where she met face-to-face with force personnel, including serving officers, federal civil servants and foreign nationals employed locally.
Capt. Andrew Leticia, NAMRU's Indo-Pacific science director, oversees the headquarters' detachment's research and cooperative activities with host nations in Australia, South Korea, Laos, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and Thailand. Leticia accompanied Jones on each leg of the tour.
“Our research focuses primarily on viruses, bacteria and parasites that are often not found in the United States and therefore do not pose a public health threat,” Leticia said. “It may be easy for the U.S. military to turn a blind eye to these known and emerging threats, given conflicts of interest and tight budgets. But these pathogens can spread rapidly among sailors on ships or Marines embedded in Southeast Asian islands.”
This collaborative research strategy aims to ensure health protection for the military by addressing infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue virus and gastrointestinal pathogens, while improving global health.|
NAMRU INDO PACIFIC stays current on potential health issues across the Indo-Pacific Command region, staying ahead of infectious diseases in the region helps reduce the risk of infection for U.S. Soldiers and protects their health and ability to operate around the world.
“We need to be prepared,” Leticia added. “We need to continue to monitor and take steps to ensure the medical readiness of our joint warfighters in the Indo-Pacific Command area.”
“We rely on our strategic location and superior logistics to support 26 projects in 10 countries around the AOR,” Leticia added. “We have the capability to transport equipment and supplies to conduct complex outbreak investigations or support hypothesis-driven projects that communicate the need for additional COVID-19 booster vaccinations among Sailors and Marines. We are a dynamic, agile and competent command that leverages our location to support the U.S. and partner nations across COCOM.”
NAMRU staff were excited to have Jones introduce them to the projects the command is involved in. At the Singapore headquarters, Jones toured the facilities, viewed research posters, received research summaries, had an all-hands conference call, presented awards, and shook lots of hands. Her visit had more impact than just a meeting, and according to Leticia, her clarity on the command's mission on their behalf is essential to ensure continued support for their research efforts.
“Capt. Jones is a critical bridge between overseas laboratories like ours and other researchers within the NMR&D enterprise, funders, frontline officers, and of course Navy medical research and development leadership,” Leticia said. “Her insight and advocacy for Navy research and development to the command helps communicate our work to various stakeholders, improving the science we do and how we accomplish our mission.”
The typical tenure for commanders leading the NMRC and NMR&D enterprises is several years, allowing the commander to visit each command at least once, usually when presiding over a change of command ceremony or similar special event. Jones visited another of the enterprises' command, NAMRU EURAFCENT, in April this year during the opening of the new command headquarters facility at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy.
“NAMRU Indo-Pacific is vital to supporting U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and is the furthest location from our headquarters in Maryland,” Jones said. “It's important that we bridge the distance gap by visiting the headquarters, meeting with staff, and having meaningful conversations about how they are performing their missions and what we as headquarters can do to support their work. We hope that these meetings provide an opportunity for them to showcase their work to our headquarters and to recognize the strong work they are doing in support of our host nation and regional military partners.”
Jones' visit was also to oversee the transition of command of the Namur Indo-Pacific, which replaced Col. Jonathan Staal with Col. Nicholas Martin, who served with the force for six years and retired this year after 30 years of service.
NAMRU INDO PACIFIC's role and headquarters location are unique for Navy medicine. “What sets NAMRU INDO PACIFIC apart within Navy medicine, in my view, is its strategic location in one of the most critical regions in the world,” Garcia said. “It's in a major epicenter of emerging infectious disease threats, as well as a very dynamic geopolitical environment.”
Led by NMRC, the NMR&D enterprise's eight laboratories engage in a wide range of activities, from basic science in the laboratory to field research in some of the world's most remote and challenging operational environments. In support of Navy, Marine Corps and joint U.S. warfighters, researchers study infectious diseases, biological weapons detection and defense, care of combat casualties, environmental health issues, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling and simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology and behavioral sciences.
