Florida Navy medical Chief keeping sailors safe

TAMPA, Fla. – A group of sailors are about to deploy to a secret location. They'll board vessels in search of guns and drugs. And U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman Chief Allison Levy has instructions for them that could be life-saving.

"If they're boarding, one of them may get hurt. They may break their leg, they may twist an ankle and so they have to know how to take care of each other. I want to make sure that everybody arrives home alive," Levy said.

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Levy has been training sailors for more than two decades. She uses realistic scenarios to test their responses.

"I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky and I was the only one in my family to go to college. I joined the Navy and I started traveling around the world and traveling to different places and I loved it," Levy explained.

Women can apply for and hold any job in the Navy, but can't join the Navy SEAL or Navy SWCC operations. Today, there are more than 59,000 women serving in the US Navy. Women like Levy.

Monica Budimla of the U.S. Navy said, "It makes me want to make Chief. It lets me know that I can do it."

When the uniform comes off, Levy is also a business owner who creates and sells sportswear, a wife and an educator. She is a woman who's breaking barriers to keep those who serve safe. Also, Levy has just signed up for six more years and plans to make the Navy a career.

Additional Information:

Currently about 59,000 women are in the US Navy, which is 16% of the total enlisted. There are 206 ships with women on board, but strides are being made towards welcoming more women to different areas. All new surface ships are built to accommodate women and women are starting to be allowed to have roles in the Navy that they used to not be allowed to hold. Women are not currently authorized to become SEAL or SWCC operators, but women can be part of a SEAL Team as combat support personnel. However, in January of 2015, Chief of Navy Personnel announced the opening to women of all previously closed ratings and Navy Enlisted Classification codes in submarine force. All female sailors E1-E8 are eligible to apply for rating conversion into all submarine force ratings. Integrating female enlisted Sailors into Submarine Force is a natural next step to the complete integration in the Navy overall. There are currently 60 female officers successfully serving on 14 submarine crews.

Alison Levy is a US Navy Hospital Corpsman Chief who works with US and Foreign National Sailors and Marines in preparation for deployments and special exercises. She also coordinates training and familiarization scenarios to ready the forces. Levy has been in the Navy for 22 years already and has signed up for another six. Levy also owns a custom apparel line called "Peace Be With U" that includes Christian wear, sports jerseys, group event t-shirts, mission trip shirts, flip flops, phone cases and jewelry. If you are interested in seeing her line, check out the website www.peacebewithu.com. Levy is also a mother and an educator at State College of Florida (SCF) in Venice, Florida, where she teaches Environmental Science classes. (Source)