The U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby is pleased to announce the visit of Rear Admiral Colin Chinn, Command Surgeon of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM).  Rear Admiral Chinn will be in Port Moresby from June 28 to July 01 in support of Pacific Partnership 2015 that will be conducted in Arawa, Bougainville and Rabaul, East New Britain.  Pacific Partnership is an annual multilateral humanitarian exercise conducted in the Pacific.

Rear Admiral Chinn will meet with Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) key political and military leaders to reaffirm the United States of America’s relationship and support to PNG and the region. This visit will provide a better understanding of the health and development challenges in the South Pacific and an opportunity for assessment for future engagements. Rear Admiral Chinn hopes to build and strengthen ongoing bilateral military-to-military relations with PNG to ensure PNG plays a positive leadership role in the Pacific Islands region.

The U.S. Pacific Command, based in Hawaii, is the largest of all military commands for the United States. It oversees operations in what constitutes half of the globe. As the Command Surgeon, Rear Admiral Chinn is responsible for the wellbeing of all military personnel under this command and is the Command’s Senior Global Health Diplomat.  The United States remains focused on working together with all our allies and partners throughout the Asia Pacific region to best ensure that we maintain security and stability.

Rear Admiral Chinn is a native of San Francisco. He received a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health in 1979 and a Master’s degree in Epidemiology in 1982 from Johns Hopkins University.

After his commissioning as an ensign in 1981, he attended the Medical College of Virginia and earned a Doctor of Medicine degree and completed an internal medicine internship and residency at Naval Hospital Oakland and completed gastroenterology fellowship training at Naval Medical Center San Diego.

In his career, Rear Admiral Chinn has served several tours with the Marine Corps. He was Battalion Surgeon with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division; Group Surgeon, 3rd Force Service Support Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force; and Force Surgeon, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific and was selected as the Navy Surgeon General Specialty Leader for Fleet Marine Forces during this tour.

Rear Admiral Chinn served as staff physician and head, internal medicine, and laboratory medical director at Naval Hospital Corpus Christi; director of Medical Services, Naval Hospital Okinawa; executive officer, Naval Hospital Lemoore, and the 15th commanding officer of Naval Hospital, Oak Harbor.

From July 2010 to February 2012, Rear Admiral Chinn served as the director of TRICARE Region West/Pacific. As director, he oversaw the healthcare delivery system in 31 countries and 21 states, covering more than 3.1 million eligible beneficiaries.  He then served in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and as the 10th Chief of the Navy Medical Corps from November 2011 to February 2014.

He is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology by the American Board of Internal Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and an assistant professor in medicine at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS).

Rear Admiral Chinn is a Fleet Marine Force qualified officer. His personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Gold Star, Meritorious Service Medal with two Gold Stars, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with two Gold Stars, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various unit and service awards.