CAPT Hancock is a native of Illiopolis,Il. He enlisted in the Navy in 1982 and served aboard the USS Ohio (Blue) after graduating as the honor graduate from Navy nuclear power school. He earned his Engineering BS in 1990 from the United States Naval Academy. He completed a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1995 from Uniform Services University of Health Sciences. While completing the family medicine residency at Naval Hospital Pensacola, he also met the requirements to be winged as a Naval Flight Surgeon. Upon graduation, Hancock served as the flight surgeon for VMFA(AW) 332 and worked as a staff family physician at Naval Hospital Beaufort. He took over as Marine Air Group 31 Surgeon in spring of 1998 in support of Operation Nobel Anvil for combat operations in Kosovo. In 2000, Hancock reported to Naval Hospital Beaufort as the Officer in Charge of Branch Medical Clinics Marine Corps Air Station and served as the hospitals physician advisor for performance improvement. Advocating open access, Hancock took over as Chief of Medical Staff and successfully implemented the program throughout the hospital.
In 2002, Hancock was assigned as the Officer in Charge of Fleet Surgical Team Seven and simultaneously served as CPG-1 Surgeon on the flag staff for CTF-76, Okinawa, Japan. Deploying as Joint Task Force Surgeon for multiple missions in support of GWOT with Naval Special Warfare, Hancock and his team developed and deployed the Concept of Operations for resuscitative surgery aboard small combatant ships engaged in distributed operations, which served as the prototype for today’s Expeditionary Resuscitative Surgical System.
Striving to meet the needs of advanced resuscitative care, Hancock matriculated to the emergency medicine residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in 2004. Graduating as the honor graduate, Hancock added board certification in Emergency Medicine to certification in Family Medicine. He was named Department Head Emergency Medicine upon being assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune. In spring of 2008, Hancock deployed as Task Force Surgeon with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Faced with extended casualty evacuation times, Hancock developed and deployed the tactical trauma team concept with mobile trauma bays providing advanced resuscitative trauma care far forward in support of expanded company operations. CAPT Hancock serves as the tactical forward resuscitation SME for the CMC and also serves on the Navy Surgeon General’s trauma advisory board.
In February of 2009, Hancock was named to be the Navy and Marine Corps representative on the Chairman’s of the Joint Chief Of Staff, Gray Team tasked to evaluate and advise the Chairman on all facets of Traumatic Brain Injury treatment. Subsequently, he has deployed back to Iraq and Afghanistan in efforts to optimize treatment of traumatic brain injury. CAPT Hancock continues to serve in this capacity and was a primary author of the directive type memorandum currently used in OIF and OEF. He serves as Navy’s research representative in matters of advance trauma resuscitation and TBI to Army’s MRMC, DCoE and DVBIC. His academic appointments include Assistant Professor of Military/Emergency medicine and Assistant Professor of Neurology at USUHS. CAPT Hancock served as the Director of Medical Services, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth and Navy’s specialty leader for emergency medicine until selected to assume the duties of the Deputy Commander, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.
CAPT Hancock currently serves as the Deputy Commander of the Navy’s First and Finest, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, VA.
Hancock’s personal decorations include the Legion of Merit (Combat Award), Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), Joint Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards), and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three awards).