THERE was a time, not too long ago, when a mandate only allowed Filipinos to serve in the US Navy as cooks, valets and stewards. It was only in 1973 when Filipinos were given the right to enter any rank for which they qualified. So much has changed since then and Rear Admiral Eleanor V. Valentin is an excellent example of a stunning turnaround in the treatment of Filipinos in the US military.
Eleanor Valentin is the first female, first Filipino, first minority Medical Service Corps officer to obtain the rank of flag officer as well as the first female to serve as Navy Medical Service Corps director.
Valentin, promoted to the flag rank of rear admiral in 2009, made history several times over when she became the Commander at the Navy’s Medicine Support Command. The first female, first Filipino and first minority to reach flag rank in the Medical Service Corps and the first minority officer to lead the Medical Support Command, Rear Admiral Valentin was selected for promotion to her critically important post by Vice Admiral Adam Robinson, the Surgeon General of the Navy.
In the civilian world, Rear Admiral Valentin’s duties would be similar to that of the chief operating officer. Her only immediate supervisor is the Surgeon General of the Navy; with an area of responsibility that extends to operations in nine countries and 12 US states, with over 4,000 personnel.
One of the agencies reporting to Rear Admiral Valentin is the Naval Medical Research Center, which is in charge of finding and developing products and solutions to the expected battlefield medical problems faced by sailors and Marines. Valentin’s labs also support cooperation in international public health programs through military-to-military collaborations and public-health capacity-building efforts in other countries.
Two of the scientists under her command discovered the H1N1 Flu virus, identifying the first two cases in the United States.
Rear Admiral Valentin also manages other training facilities that specialize in aerospace medicine, undersea medicine, radiation health, surface warfare medicine, and trauma training. She also has oversight of a new Navy Medicine Training Center in San Antonio, Texas, a tri-service facility that is the largest consolidation of enlisted service training in the history of the Department of Defense, moving naval medical training commands from San Diego, California.
Valentin also is in charge of the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center, in Portsmouth, Virginia. It’s the Navy’s equivalent to the civilian Centers for Disease Control and it’s responsible for the Navy’s Health Risk Assessment, the recognition of potential health hazards, be they biological, chemical, or physical, and communication to commands and facilities worldwide about their threats.
“I am an example of a positive outcome of people who fought hard to ensure Asian Americans and women had equal opportunity in this country,” said Valentin during one event celebrating Asian Heritage month. “Our Asian Pacific predecessors fought for the opportunities that I have today and have had during my lifetime.”
A native of Seattle, Washington, Valentin received her Bachelor of Science degrees in Zoology and Psychology at the University of Washington. She completed a Masters degree in Public Health (Health Policy and Planning), and a Master of Science degree in Public Health (Biostatistics) at the University of Hawaii.
Following her graduate studies, Eleanor joined husband Capt. Dennis Larsen in the service. In 1982, she was commissioned as a Lieutenant Junior Grade, Medical Service Corps, United States Navy, and for the next decade she served in a variety of department head and administrative officer positions at Naval Hospital San Diego, California; Admiral J. T. Boone Branch Medical Clinic in Norfolk, Virginia; Naval Medical Clinic Norfolk, Virginia; US Naval Hospital Guam; Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, DC; and US Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan.
Valentin served as Director for Administration at Naval Medical Clinic in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii from 1994 - 1997. Following that duty, she reported to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and became the Branch Head for TRICARE Marketing and Communications.
In October 2000, Rear Admiral Valentin became the Director, Regional Operations, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) TRICARE Management Activity. There, she led staff and joint service teams in developing plans and strategies to implement statutory and policy guidance for the delivery of healthcare services to eligible beneficiaries worldwide.
From April 2003 until April 2006, she served as Executive Officer, Naval Hospital Corpus Christi, Texas; and from May 2006 through May 2008, she served as Commanding Officer, Naval Hospital/Health Clinic Cherry Point, North Carolina. Formerly, she served as Chief of Staff for Navy Medicine National Capital Area.
Valentin was promoted to her current rank on September 1, 2009.
She has achieved Fellow status in the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Academy of Healthcare Management. Her personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal (3); Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (3); and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.
Speaking about her Filipino heritage, Valentin shared, “My relatives told me that I was made in the Philippines but assembled in the United States. My Dad was born in 1907 in the Philippines. He migrated to the United States in his teens, and he graduated from high school in the US. He eventually owned a grocery store and a tailor shop in San Francisco, California. My Mom was born in 1924 in the Philippines. Her father was the Mayor of a town. She graduated with a law degree in the Philippines and worked with the Manila Police Department as an undercover policewoman. She uncovered a corruption right in Manila and had to leave the Philippines for her safety. So she took a trip to California, where she enrolled as a student at University of California at Berkeley. My parents met, fell in love, and got married--and that is how I was made in the Philippines and assembled in the United States.”
“My parents raised my sister, my brother, and me to be Americans. They only spoke English to us so that we wouldn’t have accents. They raised us with the expectation that we would go to college, get a degree, and get a good job. We were told to respect your elders, traditions, and family. We were told to work hard and our reward would be a good life and ability to do just about anything we wanted to do. They raised us so that we could have a better life than they did-- so we could have the life they dreamed of having when they came to this country for the first time,” the female admiral said.
Rear Admiral Valentin embodies the admirable qualities of an officer that have brought honor and prestige to her countrymen. The Chief of Naval Operations himself, Admiral Gary Roughead, praised Valentin for her excellence. Speaking in support of Valentin when she was nominated for a 2010 National Woman of Color Technology Award, Admiral Roughead said he has “witnessed firsthand her passion, dedication, and commitment to the health, welfare and morale of our Sailors and Marines around the world. As the first female director of the Navy Medical Service Corps, and the first female Medical Service Corps officer to obtain the rank of Rear Admiral, Eleanor clearly stands out as a trendsetter who meets challenges head-on. . . . she masterfully delivers critical leadership and skillful, sound guidance in the day-to-day strategic operations of her command. She consistently leads from the front and champions outstanding care for our wounded warriors, ensuring family and patient-centered care continues in conjunction with the consistent delivery of world-class healthcare.”
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend Aug 20-23, 2011 Sec A pg.10)
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