Navy Medicine West will hold a change-of-command ceremony Friday as well as a retirement ceremony for its current commander, Rear Adm. Paul Pearigen.
Rear Adm. Timothy Weber will take the reins of Navy Medicine West during the ceremony, the organization’s final change-of-command before the Defense Health Agency assumes management of it Oct. 1, when the federal fiscal year begins.
The DHA is assuming management of all military hospitals and clinics, per a Congressional mandate. At that time, Navy Medicine West, which has served more than 675,000 sailors throughout the western Pacific region since 2005, will be rebranded and restructured as Medical Forces Pacific.
Pearigen is retiring after 27 years of Naval service, which includes overseeing Navy Medicine West’s preparation to transition to DHA’s purview. Weber will oversee the completion of that transition and direct the Navy’s Medical Service Corps.
The two ceremonies will be held at Navy Medicine West’s headquarters at Naval Base San Diego. The ceremonies are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.
–City News Service
