Page 2 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2026 First Contact: Meet the Dive Medical Recovery Team of Artemis II S AN DIEGO — The fi rst face the Artemis II crew will see upon their return to Earth will be the face of a U.S. Navy Sailor. Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Wang, Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Laddy Aldridge, Chief Hospital Corpsman Vlad Link, and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala make up the dive medical team who will be the fi rst to open the Orion capsule upon its return to Earth, make initial medical assessments of the Artemis II crew, and assist them out of the capsule safely and effi ciently. They will provide initial oneon-one assistance to Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen, Reid Wiseman, and Victor Glover respectively. Training for this mission has been a yearslong process between the four team members as the firstcontact medical providers inside the capsule. Often working in expeditionary warfare communities, Navy dive medical personnel are certifi ed divers and undergo specialized training, making them experts in decompression illnesses and other undersea medical considerations. Their mission is to care for and ensure dive-qualifi ed service members are safe to conduct diving operations. Following Orion’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere and splashdown in the Pacifi c Ocean, the medical team will enter the From left, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala, Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Wang, Chief Hospital Corpsman Vlad Link, and Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Laddy Aldridge, the U.S. Navy dive medical team with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1, pose for a group photo ahead of Artemis II recovery operations while underway on Amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) in the Pacific Ocean, April 9, 2026. John P. Murtha is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations supporting NASA’s Artemis II mission, retrieving the crew and spacecraft following their return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacifi c Ocean. NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts on a fl ight around the moon in the Orion space capsule, marking the fi rst time humans journeyed to deep space in over 50 years. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class August Clawson) capsule to conduct initial exams for the crew, provide triage care as necessary, and assist the astronauts in egress onto the infl atable raft set up outside by Navy divers. The fi rst-contact medical providers will then prepare the crew to be airlifted by Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 back to amphibious transport dock USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) for follow on evaluations. Wang, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1, serves as the lead for the four-man team. From Laguna Beach, Calif., he is a boardcertified emergency medicine doctor by trade, having completed residency training at Lincoln Hospital in Bronx, New York. He joined the Navy in 2021 and was designated as an undersea medical offi - cer in 2024. “As a proud member of the undersea medical community, I am particularly humbled to play a part in this mission,” Wang said. “It is the honor of a lifetime to stand here today, ready to provide the absolute best care to the Artemis II crew.” Aldridge, from Cushing, Okla., will be the fi rst member to make contact with the crew upon their return to Earth. Assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Expeditionary Support Unit 1, he will open the capsule, enter the space, and begin medical assessments. “Coming from three generations of military service in my family, I’m honored to serve as the senior dive independent duty corpsman for this mission,” Aldridge said. “This eff ort is the culmination of both our training to bring world class care to the Artemis II crew and countless dedicated years of Navy Diving and Navy medicine.” Dive independent duty corpsmen like Aldridge, Link, and Kapala are specifically trained in dive medicine. Link, assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 1, is the third member of the team and hails from Chelsea, Mass. He has 18 years of experience in dive medicine, but he shares that this mission is already a highlight of his career. FIRST CONTACT | SEE Page 11
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