Posted by Navy CAPT Paul S. Hammer
, DCoE director
on May 18, 2012
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Official poster for Armed Forces Day 1951 highlights the “Defenders of Freedom.”
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Tomorrow our country will celebrate its 62nd Armed Forces Day. Armed Forces Day was created to signify the unification of the individual services thereby creating the Department of Defense. The president also wanted it to be a day for American citizens to come together to honor and thank our armed forces and “the millions of veterans who have returned to civilian pursuits” for their service to our country. Air Force Gen. Nathan Twining, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also described it as an opportunity to expand the public’s understanding of the military and the role of the military in civilian life.
Armed Forces Day is also the day that the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), my alma mater, holds its annual commencement. On Armed Forces Day 24 years ago, I was privileged and honored to become a Navy physician. Since its first class graduated in 1980, USUHS has produced thousands of physicians, nurses and scientists who have gone on to have long and distinguished careers caring for our service members and their families.