Master Chief Petty Officer Joseph Rawson is the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Assistant Director, Support, Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia. Prior to this, Rawson served as the Deputy Senior Enlisted Advisor at the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic, and was instrumental in establishing Navy Medicine’s newest command, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Fort Belvoir, serving as the first Command Master Chief.
Rawson joined the Navy in May 1997. Following Basic Training he attended Naval Hospital Corpsman “A” School in Great Lakes, Illinois, and Field Medical Service School, Camp Johnson, North Carolina.
Rawson’s initial tour was at Naval Hospital Naples, Italy, where he served in the Emergency Room, Operations Management Department, and the Staff Education and Training Department. Upon completion of this tour in 2000, he reported to the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, and was the Communications Officer as part of the disaster response team responding to the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon. In 2003, Rawson reported to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, where he was augmented as the Battalion Aid Station Assistant Leading Petty Officer of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Rawson advanced to Petty Officer First Class in 2008. He then reported to 2nd Medical Battalion, and assigned to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, supporting a deployment to 5th Fleet area of operation, and Operation Unified Response in Haiti. In 2011, he was assigned to Navy Recruiting District Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a Medical Officer Recruiter, where he was advanced to Chief Petty Officer. During this tour, Rawson was selected as the 2013 National Medical Officer Recruiter of the Year.
Rawson then supported 2nd Marine Division and was advanced to Senior Chief Petty Officer in 2014. His roles included Senior Enlisted Leader of the 10th Marine Regiment and the 6th Marine Regiment. He completed a successful deployment as the Navy Senior Enlisted Leader, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force, Crisis Response Africa 15-2.
Rawson was selected to fulfill the Deputy Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Officer position for Navy Medicine, Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Falls Church, Virginia. During his tenure, he advanced to Master Chief Petty Officer in 2019.
Rawson is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy where he was awarded the Peter Tomich Leadership Award. He is also a graduate of the Command Master Chief Course in Newport, Rhode Island. He possesses a Bachelor of Science in Business from Southern New Hampshire University in 2018.
His personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (5 awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (4 awards), to include various other personal and unit awards.