Sailors slice a ceremonial cake during NMCSD's 25th anniversary.

SAN DIEGO (Jan. 23, 2013) Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD)'s oldest staff member, Capt. Dick Turner, youngest staff member Hospitalman Recruit Madison Cowden and Rear Adm. C. Forrest Faison III, Commander, NMCSD and Navy Medicine West, slice a ceremonial cake during NMCSD's 25th anniversary. Originally established as a tent dispensary in 1914 caring for Marines who had served in the Mexican Civil War to its current status as the largest military treatment facility in the Western Pacific. Today, NMCSD's mission is to prepare to deploy in support of operational forces; deliver quality health services; and shape the future of military medicine through education, training and research with a staff of more than 6,700 military and civilian professionals providing health care for a population of more than 92,000 active duty, family members and retired military personnel. It is a 277-bed multispecialty hospital and ambulatory care complex with 13 Branch Health Clinics and 10 Dental Clinics around San Diego. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John Philip Wagner Jr.) File# 130123-N-TP834-183