Bristol-Native Earns Praise For Role In Navy

By Jason Bortz, Naval Hospital Pensacola

A Bristol native was recently named U.S. Navy Medicine’s Financial Management Comptroller Officer for 2018.

Lt. Cmdr. Gennell Kidder, director of resource management at Naval Hospital Pensacola in Florida, was recognized for her financial expertise, which was instrumental in managing a $125 million budget with a 99.9 percent execution rate, the highest rate in Navy Medicine East.

Managing a budget that large for a hospital that includes 10 branch clinics spread across five states may seem challenging, but Kidder has never been afraid of a challenge.

Originally from Bristol, Kidder enlisted in the U.S. Army while in her junior year of high school and attended boot camp during the summer before her senior year at Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in Bristol Township. After graduating high school, she pursued her initial career as a combat medic and operating room technician in the Army.”

“I come from a long line of Army veterans in my family, so joining the Army was almost predetermined,” said Kidder.

After eight years in the Army, Kidder decided to focus on school and earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from Saint Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. Kidder wanted a degree in psychology because she wanted to better understand and help her son who was diagnosed with autism.

“I chose a degree in psychology because I needed to understand autism spectrum disorders to help my family,” said Kidder. “Through my education, I was able to support other newly diagnosed families and give them community outreach and resources that my family found difficult to find. This difficult time in our lives guided me towards a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration.”

While attending classes at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, to earn her master’s degree, Kidder met the person that would inspire her to join the Navy.

“I met a Navy Chief [Petty Officer] who became my best friend and convinced me to join the Navy,” said Kidder, who is an avid Dr. Who fan.

Kidder also discovered she was good with numbers and decided she wanted to be a comptroller in the Navy. Comptrollers are responsible for all accounting-related activities including managing resources such as manpower, appropriated and non-appropriated funds, payroll, travel and support agreements.

After serving as deputy comptroller in Okinawa, Japan, and deploying to Kabul, Afghanistan, Kidder was stationed at Naval Heath Clinic Cherry Point, North Carolina. While at Cherry Point, Kidder determined that she wanted Naval Hospital Pensacola to be her next duty station. By coincidence, the executive officer at Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, was Capt. Amy Branstetter, who was already selected to be the commanding officer for NHP. Only a short distance away, Kidder arranged a meeting to explain why a then lieutenant should be the comptroller for a large command like NHP.

“She was impressive with her presentation and organizational skills,” said Branstetter about that meeting. “I knew we [NHP] were going to be in good hands.”

When asked why she was so adamant about being the comptroller at NHP, Kidder’s reply was simple.

“The staff of the Directorate for Resource Management at NHP have an amazing reputation and I wanted to work with this team,” said Kidder. “Normally, I would have been embarrassed to earn an award like Comptroller of the Year, but the only way you get recognized for an award like that is if you have an outstanding team. I love being a comptroller, and I’m very lucky to work with the team I have every day.”