China Lake Navy Corpsman Aids Artemis II Astronaut Recovery

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Brian Romero, a search and rescue medical technician assigned to Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Unit China Lake, played a key role in the recovery of NASA’s Artemis II astronauts on April 10. Following their historic mission around the moon, Romero was embarked aboard USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) as part of Navy Medicine’s Expeditionary Resuscitative Surgical System and En-Route Care System teams. He helped provide essential medical support during the high-risk reentry and recovery phase in the Pacific Ocean. Romero's preparation for this dynamic environment drew on his clinical experience at Branch Health Clinic China Lake and operational training with Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Three One (VX-31). This mission highlighted the versatility of Navy Medicine teams and the critical role of search and rescue medical technicians in ensuring mission success, even in support of human spaceflight operations.