NAVAL AIR STATION PENSACOLA, Fla. – During a change of command ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum, Capt. Nichole A. Olson relieved Capt. Kimberly P. Toone as commanding officer of Navy Medicine Operational Training Command (NMOTC), August 14, 2024.
Toone served as the NMOTC commanding officer since September 2022, providing exemplary leadership and guiding the command through several transitions and modernizations. Her command of NMOTC allowed the Navy’s healthcare providers and warfighters, to continue providing surgical, medical, mental health, dental, and trauma support to the fleet by updating curricula and decreasing death and disability to the servicemember. The operational background and knowledge set needed to facilitate the difficult task of commanding Navy Medicine’s operational training command was a task well suited to Capt. Toone’s unique background having spent much of her career in operational environments. During her time at NMOTC Toone led 5 directorates and 6 detachments, encompassing a 759-member workforce across 24 training sites that conducted 43 operational medicine and 21 survival training courses with an annual student throughput of over 18,000 students.
Reflecting on her tour at NMOTC, "I was honored to have been entrusted with the Navy’s most valuable resource, her people,” said Toone. “You (Sailors) are the ones who enjoy adventure, which, in our line of work leads to competence, even though occasionally that competence comes through difficult trials, thank you for carrying me with your competence and your goodwill.”
Capt. Toone would go on to highlight the incredible civilian and contract staff, who make NMOTC the command it is and facilitate the execution of any task sent the command’s way noting that her relief Capt. Olson was indeed inheriting a great team.
Rear Adm. Walter Brafford, commander Naval Medical Forces Development Command (NMFDC), was the presiding officer during the ceremony and presented Toone with the Legion of Merit award for her outstanding service. As he presented Toone the award, Brafford would cite her specific accomplishments such as guiding staff in the completion of a multi-year transformational change of organizational and system requirements.
Additionally, the citation noted that Toone demonstrated exemplary leadership with her command being directly responsible for established a bachelor’s degree pathway for submarine independent duty corpsmen students.
“As Commanding Officer, Capt. Toone has done an outstanding job taking this command to the next level,” said Brafford. “You have set the pace for your team with an incredible work ethic, and you lead by doing things the right way.”
The ceremony proceeded to the reading of orders for Capt. Olson as the incoming commanding officer of NMOTC and the ceremonial turning over of command performed by Rear Adm. Brafford. With a hand salute rendered smartly and resolute and command of NMOTC Capt. Olson approached the podium and spoke as the new NMOTC commanding officer and addressed the both the command and guests in attendance.
Speaking about the long road to becoming a Commanding Officer, Olson noted that she could not imagine a better command to assume thanked those around her who supported her journey in the path to leadership. Olson would go on to say how much she had come to realize that the Sailors she served with comprised her family and how grateful she was that they too had supported her journey every step of the way.
“I am truly honored to be given the opportunity to ensure that we continue to train the world’s greatest naval warfighters,” said Olson. "Sailors are my family, their families are also my family and the Navy is my career.”
Capt. Olson is a graduate of the Nova Southeastern College of Medicine and received her Doctor of Optometry in 2001. Her most recent tour was as Executive Officer for Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Corpus Christi in July of 2022. Olson’s naval career spans 23 years in which she has deployed for missions such in 2004 she was the first Navy optometrist deployed to Kuwait where she served as the sole eye care provider in theater as well as occupied numerous staff positions across the globe such as Japan and Guam. Her personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (5), a Meritorious Unit Service Medal and multiple campaign and service awards.
NMOTC is the Navy’s leader in operational medicine and trains medical providers and specialists for the fields of Aviation, Surface and Undersea Warfare, Expeditionary, and Special Operations Medicine.
Navy Medicine – represented by more than 44,000 highly-trained military and civilian health care professionals – provides enduring expeditionary medical support to the warfighter on, below, and above the sea, and ashore.
For more information about this article visit: https://www.med.navy.mil/Navy-Medicine-Operational-Training-Command/
For more news from NMOTC visit: http://www.dvidshub.net/unit/NMOTC
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Change of Command Ceremony Held for NMOTC