Red Cross Volunteer goes by many names

By Shannon Lynch WAMC PAO Paraglideonline.net

Soldier, Family physician, husband, father and Red Cross volunteer are just a few names that you can call Chuck Nguyen, a graduate of the Uniformed Services University.

Nguyen served at Fort Bragg as the officer in charge of Joel Health and Dental Clinic from 2009 to 2011. He is married to Lt. Col. Dana Nguyen M.D., a West Point graduate and graduate of the Uniformed Services University.

She is a Family physician. They both deployed , and returned to settle into life at Fort Bragg.

The Nguyens started a Family and had a decision to make. Would they both stay on active duty? Dana is the associate program director for the Womack Family Medicine Residency Program, which means she works all hours of the day and on weekends. The couple have a son, Wilden, 4 and a daughter, Brenna, 2.

After the last deployment, the Nguyens decided they had to balance their lives between career and Family. Chuck decided to be a stay-at- home-dad and give Dana the opportunity to continue her Army and medical career while he focused on the children.

"Every parent struggles with how to best provide for your Family," he said.

Chuck is also a Red Cross volunteer and works eight hours a week, mentoring the residents helping out with patients and doing procedures in the clinic.

"It was a hard decision leaving the Army during two wars, but through my volunteer work I maintain a connection with the Army and military medicine," said Chuck. "I also hope I can show the residents that it is a privilege to be in medicine and to take care of our patients and if you find something fulfilling, by all means do it," he added.

"Dr. Nguyen has been an invaluable member of the teaching staff. He is a calm and effective teacher who can make even the most complex task understandable for his learners. We are lucky to have someone with his intelligence and skill teaching the next generation of Army Family Medicine physicians," said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Mark Stackle, director of the Family Medicine Residency Program.

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