WFAE 90.7 - Charlotte's NPR News Source
Why I Served: Frederick Greene
By Joe Kendrick
November 11, 2026 at 7:48 AM EST
Rick Greene served in the Navy Medical Corps in the mid-1970s as a lieutenant commander. His first duty was as a surgeon aboard the USS Nimitz, the first Nimitz-class nuclear carrier.
As a surgical oncologist, he urges veterans to get screened for cancers such as colon and lung cancer. This matters especially for those exposed to chemicals during and after Vietnam. He, like many of the veterans we interviewed, is involved with Veterans Bridge Home in Charlotte, an organization which connects veterans to services, careers and community.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity.
Joe Kendrick: Could you start by saying your name, what you served in, what branch, and what was your role?
Rick Greene: My name is Rick Greene, and I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina. And I was lucky to serve in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps back in the mid-70s. I was lieutenant commander. And my first duty was to be the surgeon on the USS Nimitz, which was the first of the real nuclear carriers, the Nimitz class carriers.
I made the first deployment July 1, 1976. Went to the Med for eight months. And it was quite an experience being on a brand new class. We had 6,000 men on the ship. There were no women at that time, so there were only men on carriers and battleships. But it was a real opportunity to take part in a wonderful tradition of Navy medicine.
It's interesting, of course, that as we record this today, it's the 251st birthday of the US Navy today, October 13. And so again, after spending eight months I stayed on the ship for another year and then went to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital as attending surgeon. I was a general surgeon. I helped teach surgical residents at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. And again, a marvelous experience with many fond memories of that opportunity. I think I really chose the Navy because my mother was in the Coast Guard in World War II. I was always proud of what she did. My father was in the Army, so I have a tradition of family members serving in the military. And as a physician, I felt it was very important to offer my services. And again, I've tried to stay close to many things involving veterans today.
Joe Kendrick: Rick, you mentioned your family connection with the military. What else was the reason that you served?
Rick Greene: One of the reasons that I went into the Navy is that when you were in medical school back in the era of Vietnam, you had to make a decision of whether you wanted to serve in the Army, Navy, Marines. And again, I felt that the Navy was for me because of, again, my mother's experience. I liked the concept of being on the open seas. And so the Navy was kind enough to allow me to have a complete training in general surgery because all of the general surgeons at that time had to go to the carriers. So I was selected to go to the USS Nimitz, CVN 68, for my duty in the US Navy. So again, it was a decision that I had made to go into the Navy and I never regretted it.
Joe Kendrick: Do you have a message for veterans on this Veterans Day and perhaps also for the public? What would you say?
Rick Greene: Well, of course, as one who has served, I think it's a great calling. And many of the things that I've done in the past 52 years since serving on that ship have been related to veterans' activities.
We have a wonderful group here in Charlotte called Veterans Bridge Home, which I've been involved in. I try to participate in everything I can to allow veterans to know what's involved in medicine, what's involved in health care for them.
After getting out of the Navy, I served as Chief of Surgery in the Veterans Administration for 17 years. And of course, it was that Navy experience that really made me want to serve in the VA system and it was a great calling as well. So I've enjoyed taking care of veterans. I think the message is that we always need to salute our veterans no matter what branch they served in, no matter what their rate was, what their rank was. It's an opportunity to give back and I continue to give back even at this juncture of my life.
Joe Kendrick: Can you tell us about your experience with fellow veterans or seeing other veterans transition out of the military and some of the best cases and perhaps even worse cases with veterans after military life?
Rick Greene: Since I'm involved in health care, I think one of the issues that I've seen most frequently is veterans not knowing what their health care support could be like, both in the private sector, where I've been involved in for many years, and also in the VA, which I also was involved in for a number of years.
So for me, I think it's an opportunity to help veterans find out what's available to them not only if they might have a disability secondary to their military work, but also for routine things. I happen to practice surgical oncology, so I'm involved in cancer care. I've been very concerned about cancers in the veteran population. I give talks to veteran groups, try to highlight why screening is so important for those who have been in Vietnam and after Vietnam and exposed to certain chemicals.
It's so important for the population to know because again, what we don't want to happen is a patient develops some malignancy and cannot be treated effectively. You have to find malignancy early on and the only way to do that is screening. So I think the best thing that I've been able to do is encourage our military veteran population to be screened for certain diseases such as colon cancer and lung cancer.
Joe Kendrick: What are some of the challenges that you've seen veterans face in their post-military careers?
Rick Greene: Well, I think mostly it's been psychological. Again, I dealt with a lot of, even though I was the surgeon on a large carrier, as the Second in line as a senior medical officer, I dealt a lot with psychological issues of young sailors on that ship.
And I think these are the kinds of things that we've seen more frequently. And so it's the mental health issues I think are really important, not just the somatic things or the physical illnesses that we deal with.
So I think that's a message for all of us. There have been reports, of course, of increased suicide rates in veterans. What we want to do is identify people who are having issues before they harm themselves. So again, for me, I've been a physician taking care of surgical illness, but I think the important thing is to look for mental illness in our veteran population and to treat that as well.
Joe Kendrick: What would you say to somebody considering military service?
Rick Greene: I think military service is a great calling. And again, currently, of course, you don't have to go in and serve in the military. But I think that for many young men, being in the military really was an extremely important thing for them. And you gave them the way to look for the future, look for a job.
So again, I saw this as a military physician. And again, there are those who are in our younger age groups who need the discipline of the military. So I think, again, military is important. Serving one's country, of course, is critically important, especially in these times.
So I think for those who want to serve, I've certainly talked to my own children and grandchildren about these issues. And I talk to groups, high school kids, college kids, about the need to serve. So I think it's a great calling and we always need to honor our veteran populations as well.
Joe Kendrick: What did we leave out? Is there anything you'd like to add?
Rick Greene: I think you've covered a lot of interesting things. Again, I think one of the issues that I think is important is when someone gets out of the military is to continue to give back for any veterans groups in your community.
And I was very fortunate more recently to be involved in a wonderful group of Veterans Bridge Home, which really does a lot for the veteran population, both in financial support, in health care support, and finding jobs. I think that's one of the issues. When somebody's been in the military 15, 20, 25 years and finally gets out, sometimes it's a difficult transition. And I think we always have to be cognizant of that and help individuals. And so I think military organizations are so important to be involved in after one gets out of the military.
Joe Kendrick: Rick, thank you for your service.
Rick Greene: Well, Joe, thank you, and I really appreciated this.
As a surgical oncologist, he urges veterans to get screened for cancers such as colon and lung cancer. This matters especially for those exposed to chemicals during and after Vietnam. He, like many of the veterans we interviewed, is involved with Veterans Bridge Home in Charlotte, an organization which connects veterans to services, careers and community.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity.
Joe Kendrick: Could you start by saying your name, what you served in, what branch, and what was your role?
Rick Greene: My name is Rick Greene, and I'm in Charlotte, North Carolina. And I was lucky to serve in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps back in the mid-70s. I was lieutenant commander. And my first duty was to be the surgeon on the USS Nimitz, which was the first of the real nuclear carriers, the Nimitz class carriers.
I made the first deployment July 1, 1976. Went to the Med for eight months. And it was quite an experience being on a brand new class. We had 6,000 men on the ship. There were no women at that time, so there were only men on carriers and battleships. But it was a real opportunity to take part in a wonderful tradition of Navy medicine.
It's interesting, of course, that as we record this today, it's the 251st birthday of the US Navy today, October 13. And so again, after spending eight months I stayed on the ship for another year and then went to the Portsmouth Naval Hospital as attending surgeon. I was a general surgeon. I helped teach surgical residents at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. And again, a marvelous experience with many fond memories of that opportunity. I think I really chose the Navy because my mother was in the Coast Guard in World War II. I was always proud of what she did. My father was in the Army, so I have a tradition of family members serving in the military. And as a physician, I felt it was very important to offer my services. And again, I've tried to stay close to many things involving veterans today.
Joe Kendrick: Rick, you mentioned your family connection with the military. What else was the reason that you served?
Rick Greene: One of the reasons that I went into the Navy is that when you were in medical school back in the era of Vietnam, you had to make a decision of whether you wanted to serve in the Army, Navy, Marines. And again, I felt that the Navy was for me because of, again, my mother's experience. I liked the concept of being on the open seas. And so the Navy was kind enough to allow me to have a complete training in general surgery because all of the general surgeons at that time had to go to the carriers. So I was selected to go to the USS Nimitz, CVN 68, for my duty in the US Navy. So again, it was a decision that I had made to go into the Navy and I never regretted it.
Joe Kendrick: Do you have a message for veterans on this Veterans Day and perhaps also for the public? What would you say?
Rick Greene: Well, of course, as one who has served, I think it's a great calling. And many of the things that I've done in the past 52 years since serving on that ship have been related to veterans' activities.
We have a wonderful group here in Charlotte called Veterans Bridge Home, which I've been involved in. I try to participate in everything I can to allow veterans to know what's involved in medicine, what's involved in health care for them.
After getting out of the Navy, I served as Chief of Surgery in the Veterans Administration for 17 years. And of course, it was that Navy experience that really made me want to serve in the VA system and it was a great calling as well. So I've enjoyed taking care of veterans. I think the message is that we always need to salute our veterans no matter what branch they served in, no matter what their rate was, what their rank was. It's an opportunity to give back and I continue to give back even at this juncture of my life.
Joe Kendrick: Can you tell us about your experience with fellow veterans or seeing other veterans transition out of the military and some of the best cases and perhaps even worse cases with veterans after military life?
Rick Greene: Since I'm involved in health care, I think one of the issues that I've seen most frequently is veterans not knowing what their health care support could be like, both in the private sector, where I've been involved in for many years, and also in the VA, which I also was involved in for a number of years.
So for me, I think it's an opportunity to help veterans find out what's available to them not only if they might have a disability secondary to their military work, but also for routine things. I happen to practice surgical oncology, so I'm involved in cancer care. I've been very concerned about cancers in the veteran population. I give talks to veteran groups, try to highlight why screening is so important for those who have been in Vietnam and after Vietnam and exposed to certain chemicals.
It's so important for the population to know because again, what we don't want to happen is a patient develops some malignancy and cannot be treated effectively. You have to find malignancy early on and the only way to do that is screening. So I think the best thing that I've been able to do is encourage our military veteran population to be screened for certain diseases such as colon cancer and lung cancer.
Joe Kendrick: What are some of the challenges that you've seen veterans face in their post-military careers?
Rick Greene: Well, I think mostly it's been psychological. Again, I dealt with a lot of, even though I was the surgeon on a large carrier, as the Second in line as a senior medical officer, I dealt a lot with psychological issues of young sailors on that ship.
And I think these are the kinds of things that we've seen more frequently. And so it's the mental health issues I think are really important, not just the somatic things or the physical illnesses that we deal with.
So I think that's a message for all of us. There have been reports, of course, of increased suicide rates in veterans. What we want to do is identify people who are having issues before they harm themselves. So again, for me, I've been a physician taking care of surgical illness, but I think the important thing is to look for mental illness in our veteran population and to treat that as well.
Joe Kendrick: What would you say to somebody considering military service?
Rick Greene: I think military service is a great calling. And again, currently, of course, you don't have to go in and serve in the military. But I think that for many young men, being in the military really was an extremely important thing for them. And you gave them the way to look for the future, look for a job.
So again, I saw this as a military physician. And again, there are those who are in our younger age groups who need the discipline of the military. So I think, again, military is important. Serving one's country, of course, is critically important, especially in these times.
So I think for those who want to serve, I've certainly talked to my own children and grandchildren about these issues. And I talk to groups, high school kids, college kids, about the need to serve. So I think it's a great calling and we always need to honor our veteran populations as well.
Joe Kendrick: What did we leave out? Is there anything you'd like to add?
Rick Greene: I think you've covered a lot of interesting things. Again, I think one of the issues that I think is important is when someone gets out of the military is to continue to give back for any veterans groups in your community.
And I was very fortunate more recently to be involved in a wonderful group of Veterans Bridge Home, which really does a lot for the veteran population, both in financial support, in health care support, and finding jobs. I think that's one of the issues. When somebody's been in the military 15, 20, 25 years and finally gets out, sometimes it's a difficult transition. And I think we always have to be cognizant of that and help individuals. And so I think military organizations are so important to be involved in after one gets out of the military.
Joe Kendrick: Rick, thank you for your service.
Rick Greene: Well, Joe, thank you, and I really appreciated this.