Why I Served: Jeffrey Kneisl

Jeffrey Kneisl served in the U.S. Navy, first as a ship's medical officer and later as an orthopedic surgeon, in San Diego and Oakland, California.

Despite conventional wisdom that might lead one to wonder if young people can be trusted to go to the store “and get the right jar of peanut butter without having a look at their iPhone,” Jeffrey tells us that on his ship the average age was 23, and the crew carried out complex global missions.

Currently, he is chief surgical officer for Atrium Health in North Carolina and Georgia.


The following has been lightly edited for clarity.



Joe Kendrick: Could you start by giving us your name, your branch, and what role you served and where?

Jeffrey Kneisl: Sure. Jeffrey Kneisl. United States Navy. My role in the United States Navy, several. I was a ship's medical officer, and then subsequently I was an orthopedic surgeon in the United States Navy. And this was on the West Coast in San Diego and also in Oakland, California.

Kendrick: Why did you serve?

Kneisl: Why did I serve? It's a great question. I served initially largely because my upbringing foundationally had been in the military and that prompted me to want to follow in my father's and grandfather's footsteps initially.



Kendrick: If you had a message for veterans, but also for the public on Veterans Day, what would you say?

Kneisl: Well, that military service is, in fact, service. It's service to others. It's I think the ultimate form of servant leadership when you consider that people are willing to go ahead and put a mission in in front of themselves personally and often put themselves in harm's way.



Kendrick: Do you ever think about best case and worst case scenarios for veterans once leaving the service? Can you give us a picture of what you see out there?

Kneisl: Oh, sure. I can particularly as a physician. I can tell you from a non-physician lens, my father when he left the service, you know, he was 52 years old and he was a very senior officer, but still in the in the just the best part of his life with a with a lot of skill sets. And sometimes veterans come out and they have wonderful skill sets for the military, but they may not be applicable to the civilian world.


And that's a big challenge for people that have had jobs that gave them a lot of leadership or command opportunities to enter into the civilian market. And so there's some of those challenges just in terms of life and lifestyle. From the physician side, I think we're all aware of the physical challenges that can be faced to veterans that may have incurred injuries. You know, some of them visible, like amputations, some of them not visible, like traumatic brain injuries.

And then, of course, there's the mental health side for people that have been in combat or in other sorts of trauma.

Kendrick: What should the public know about what challenges veterans face?

Kneisl: I think what they need to know is that these are real human beings that dedicated themselves to make the civilian world and the civilian life possible for those that haven't served. I don't know what the current percentile is of US population that serves, but you know, the number that comes to mind is a small number. You know, it's 2, 3, maybe 4%.


And so they need to realize that those 2, 3, 4% of the people that are protecting you and allowing you to have this wonderful lifestyle that we have in in the United States.


Kendrick: So I take it that you would suggest military service for a young person coming up or how, you know, how would you suggest to people that were considering service?

Yeah, I would tell people that they should strongly consider, you know, military service, you know, if they're looking for multiple reasons. One is as a young person, whether you're male or female, it's an opportunity for growth. I can tell you that on board my ship the average age was 23 years old.

And we could take this ship of men and equipment and helicopters and tanks around the world 365 days a year in any weather and do missions that you wouldn't believe possible with young people. We laugh today so you wonder can you send some people that are 22 or 23 years old to the store and and get the right jar of peanut butter, you know, without having to look at their iPhone. So number one, it gives a tremendous opportunity to grow up.

And number two, it's a tremendous opportunity to learn a skill from other skilled individuals that you can carry forward, particularly in in some of the trades. And then again, the leadership opportunities as a young person that you can also carry forward for the rest of your life. So I think all of those are pluses.

Kendrick: What have you been doing in your retirement?


Kneisl: So I'm not really retired. You know, I spent, you know, several years on active duty and then went into the reserves. You know, I work now at Atrium Health and I'm the chief surgical officer there for North Carolina and Georgia.


I have a busy orthopedic practice that focuses on cancer patients with you know, three younger partners that are do the lion's share the work and as well as I run the operating rooms you know, around the state. So my retirement is from the military, but it is not from medicine or from I still have a full-time job.

Kendrick: It may be somewhat redundant, but what advantages might you have in your role now outside of after retiring from the military that it gave you?


Kneisl: Yeah, that's a great question. My opportunity again to have a leadership job as a young physician you know, on board my ship I depending upon how many embarked troops we had, I would have anywhere from 16 to 30 corpsman working for me. You know, I have responsibilities for running five sick calls a day, you know, and also responsible for making sure that we are prepared to go into you know, any theater, any at any time.


And this was pre-email, you know, pre-texting. You know, we had to be prepared so you know, preparing the equipment, the supplies, the stores, you know, to leave San Diego be gone for six months with young men taking care of people who were going to be at risk for a severe injury or disease like malaria. I mean, all of that organizational skill, ability to problem-solve on the fly, I mean, all of those were accelerated it because of my military experience.

And I would also say interestingly, you know, I was at that time more concerned about trauma, you know, and saving life and limb that way. But at this point, you know, in my life I I'm a cancer doctor who's saving life and limbs in a different way. Similar battle, it's just in each individual against their cancer as opposed to the sailors and marines against an adversary.

Kendrick: What other comments do you have? What did we leave out?

Kneisl: What did we leave out? I think for me, you know, I do believe that the that the military is a is it's a servant role. And I I think people underappreciate that. I think the foundational role that it can play in building young men and women for their life needs to be appreciated. And I think it can only be appreciated best by getting in that crucible of service.


There's just something about being there in the uniform, experiencing it, you know, from boot camp all the way through. And I think the other part is the legacy piece. You know, the military prepares you for succession because the guy next to you or behind you has to be prepared to carry out the mission in case you're injured or incapable. And you have to always think about your succession planning.

And so I would say for me, another role that I've had the privilege of doing is being an orthopedic educator, preparing young surgeons for the future, which is the legacy that we leave behind as senior orthopedic surgeons. So again, I'm not certain that everybody appreciates the importance of always preparing for the legacy effect behind you. It's been once said, you know, you can't really give it back what people have taught you, but you can pass it on. And again, I view that as a serious responsibility.