“The Nurse Corps taught me resilience, humility, and the true meaning of selfless service, and those lessons continue to shape who I am long after I took off the uniform.” – Sadye Nichols, TriWest vice president, Clinical Operations; Army Nurse Corps, Louisiana National Guard, 2009-2019
In U.S. history, nurses have been an important part of American military success dating back to the Revolutionary War in 1776. In that war, mothers, wives, and daughters often had the responsibility to care for soldiers in dreary, deplorable camps, usually without pay, recognition, or rank.
Nearly 100 years later, nurses also served an essential role during the Civil War (1961-1965). In this brutal war, more than 6,000 Union nurses tended to soldiers in infirmaries, on hospital ships, and even directly on the battlefield.
A little more than 30 years later in the four-month Spanish-American War (1898), trained women were officially employed as contract nurses in the U.S. Army.
Yet it was not until Feb. 2, 1901, that a permanent Army Nurse Corps (ANC) to provide military medical care was finally established by Congress.
Today, the ANC is a special branch of military medical officers who – along with enlisted personnel – provide nurse services in support of the Army’s medical needs.
A Rich Legacy of Sacrifice, Contributions, and Medical Excellence
As part of its ongoing legacy of service to our nation, Feb. 2, 2026, marked the 125th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps.
On Friday, Feb. 6, the Army Nurse Corps Association (ANCA) commemorated the ANC’s milestone anniversary with a special gala in Washington, D.C.
In 2000, ANCA formed to share the proud military service legacy of the Nurse Corps. The organization advances the ANC’s rich legacy of service through academic scholarships, nursing research grants, historical preservation, education, and professional development.
As a nationwide, volunteer-driven organization, ANCA is comprised of Army Active Duty, Reserve, or National Guard nurses, whether currently serving, previously served, or retired. Its mission is to connect the generations of Army nurses and continue its legacy of excellence in military medicine.
At the ANCA gala, former Army Nurse Corps military members, dignitaries, and supporters gathered to celebrate the ANC’s 125th birthday and honor its proud legacy of medical service for the nation.
TriWest Healthcare Alliance (TriWest) served as a proud sponsor of the event, with two senior executives attending the gala to help celebrate the significant legacy of the ANC.
TriWest ANC Veteran Shares Importance of Service, Compassion
Sadye Nichols, TriWest vice president,
Clinical Operations, served in the Army Nurse Corps through her officer commission in the Louisiana National Guard from 2009-2019. Her active duty service included orders to the state’s Joint Force Headquarters, Medical Command, at Camp Beauregard, Louisiana; and the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Among Nichols’ major emergency preparedness assignments were the toxic BP oil spill (2010-2011), and several other declared state and federal emergencies.
Nichols also served as a medical element
lead in a specialized Louisiana chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives response unit, called CERFP. The joint Army and Air National Guard unit provides immediate, specialized search, extraction, decontamination, and medical support during deployments.
Nichols’ proud National Guard service in the Nurse Corps made a life-long impact, providing invaluable experience in caring for fellow soldiers when they needed quality medical care and military readiness the most.
“Serving in the Army Nurse Corps
is something I carry with me every day. It wasn’t just a role—it was a calling,” she says. “I had the privilege of caring for soldiers at their most vulnerable moments, often when the stakes were high and the outcomes uncertain.”
Nichols credits her service in the Army Nurse Corps and its close-knit camaraderie for helping to build her commitment to providing compassionate care, even into her civilian medical career.
“Being part of a legacy built on sacrifice,
compassion, and courage means knowing that, when it mattered most, we showed up,” she emphasizes. “The Nurse Corps taught me resilience, humility, and the true meaning of selfless service, and those lessons continue to shape who I am long after I took off the uniform.”
At TriWest, Nichols has transferred her Louisiana National Guard and Army Nurse Corps experience to an important mission she still finds purposeful and needed.
“As a TriWest employee, it brings my journey full circle. I no longer wear the uniform, but I am still serving the same community, still supporting the same mission. It is a reminder that service does not end—it evolves.”
TriWest Clinical Leader Emphasizes ANC Professionalism, Dedication
TriWest Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Donald Bradshaw, is a U.S. Army Medical Corps Veteran, retiring as a brigadier general. His military medicine experience includes serving alongside numerous Army Nurse Corps professionals during his 32-year career.
Dr. Bradshaw emphasizes the ANC 125th anniversary reflects and amplifies the important contributions all Army nurses have made through their military service.
“This is a testimony to the service, sacrifice, commitment, and dedication of U.S. Army nurses and reflects those same characteristics to all of Army and military medicine,” he shares.
“The nursing profession, and the nurses themselves, have responded with caring, patient-centeredness, excellence, adaptability, and leadership to the myriad changes in health care, military medicine, the nation, and the world over the past 125 years. I have been blessed as a fellow Service member, a patient, a husband, and a father by the care, partnership, and leadership from Army nurses,” he adds.
As a TriWest clinical executive, Dr. Bradshaw also emphasizes the challenge throughout TriWest and our provider networks to uphold the ANC’s 125-year legacy of service.
“It’s challenging and humbling to participate in the 125th Army Nurse Corps anniversary celebration,” he shares. “My attendance at the milestone anniversary gala challenges me to continue to fulfill the legacy and vison of the Army Nurse Corps as TriWest supports the Military Healthcare System. At the same time, my participation is humbling to be part of the “Thank you” for all the care that Army nurses are, have, and will provide.”
Sadye Nichols’ attendance at the 125th Army Nurse Corps anniversary gala prompts closely held pride and an opportunity to rejoin other ANCA professionals who know the demands of Nurse Corps service.
“Attending the 125th Army Nurse Corps anniversary is personal and emotional for me,” she emphasizes.
“As a Nurse Corps Veteran, it feels like coming home—standing shoulder-to-shoulder with others who understand the sacrifices, the long hours, and the moments that change you forever. I’m a proud member of the Army Nurse Corps Association, and it means a great deal to me.”