Springfield native calls his military service invaluable

Name: Mark Bryson

Hometown: Springfield

Current Residence: Clifton, Virginia

Family: Wife, Debbie and children Zachary and Emily

Career after Military: For the past several years I've been a consultant for a government contractor. Our primary client is the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. We specialize in financial and business process management.

Hobbies: Reading, writing, water sports, working in the yard, and struggling to overcome frequent and life-long embarrassment on the golf course.

Branch of Service: Initially I enlisted in the Navy. Later, I accepted a commission as a Medical Service Corps officer.

RELATED: Springfield veteran got to see the world while in the Navy

Dates of Service: 1977 to 2001.

Deployments/Bases: I spent my first four years enlisted as a hospital corpsman at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, where I worked on the pediatrics and surgical intensive care units. Later I worked as a paramedic on the ambulance team. The remainder of my service was in the officer ranks. I was the medical administrative officer at the Naval Medical Clinic at the Miramar Naval Air Station (home of Top Gun); Comptroller, Naval Hospital Okinawa; Comptroller, Naval Hospital Charleston, S.C.; Budget and Accounting Division at Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, D.C.; Instructor and Director of Resources Management, Naval School of Health Sciences, Bethesda, M.D.

What did you gain from serving in the military?

My service experience was invaluable. The education and training opportunities were limitless and top notch. I earned both bachelor and master degrees through the Navy; taught at the Navy School of Health Sciences; traveled extensively throughout Asia and Europe. I made lifelong friendships with people from all over the world. I learned leadership and management skills at a much earlier age, and was responsible for more resources than I ever would have in similar civilian positions.

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What do you remember most about your service, what stands out as something memorable?

It was never boring. Although some days were better than others, no two days were ever the same. I’ve experienced first-hand the miracle of birth, the finality of death, and most every human condition in between. I met the glamorous stars from the movie “Top Gun” but also ate dinner on the floor of a but with members of the beautiful Lisu tribe while trekking on elephants in the hill country of northern Thailand. I spent a Thanksgiving evening on duty making funeral arrangements with parents who had just lost their small daughter to leukemia. But I also spent a Christmas taking in the sights and sounds of teeming Hong Kong with my wife and small child. In Okinawa, I was the duty officer when part of the naval hospital collapsed during a typhoon. But I was also a part of the design and development team in building a new clinic on that same base.

What would you like readers to know about your military experience?

First, I am not a hero. But I served with quite a few. There is no greater feeling than knowing you’ve made a small but positive difference in serving our country. I was fortunate to have never taken an incoming round. But I did experience the results in others. I come from a family of former service members. My dad, brother, and four uncles served at one time or another. I have tremendous respect for the young men and women serving in all branches of service today. They are the smartest and best trained warriors ever. They are putting their lives on the line every day so that we may enjoy the freedoms often taken for granted. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their sacrifices. Also, if a young person is thinking of joining the military, they should know that you will never become wealthy. However, you will more than likely become enriched by the experience.

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