Linda, why did you decide to get into the OB/GYN field? I was never one of those people who woke up one day and was set on being a doctor. I just wanted to take it day by day to see if I liked it. I was pretty good at science, so I decided to major in biology and chemistry, and they had a combo pre-med program.

But why OB/GYN? It seemed something that fit my personality. My mom’s a teacher, and my dad administrates a nursing home, so I had a lot of experience being around people. I took my MCAT, did pretty well on that, went to medical school and liked it a lot. My first year of medical school, I delivered my first baby, and I got into a mentor program with the family practice service, and I was hooked from there.

What is your most rewarding specific thing about the job? Most the time babies and mothers come out just fine, but there are moments in time when you realized you saved someone’s life. It doesn’t happen as much in this field as if you were an emergency room surgeon or a trauma doctor, but there are times when you realize a mother or baby could have died and something you did helped them.

You grew up in Spencer, Wis. Are you a Packers fan? You kind of have to be a Packers fan in Wisconsin, though when you get closer to the Minnesota border, then people turn into Vikings fans. You go south toward Illinois, and you get some Bears fans.

Where did you go to school? I did my undergrad studies at a small college in Iowa called Luther and then worked in D.C. for a few years as a reference librarian for DOD classified information. After I figured out what bureaucracy was all about, I decided to enroll in med school at the University of Virginia.

How did you end up a military doctor? At UVA I met my future husband my freshman year. He was going to medical school on a Navy scholarship and he had been in the service for a while. I never thought I’d marry a military man, but we were together all four years and married my last year of residency.

Wow, and he was away for a lot of the time you were dating? Yes, we were separated for four years while I was at the University of Wisconsin for residency while he was in Washington state. So I had my first deployment type of separation, and we actually didn’t move in together until we were married eight months. And before that, we probably only saw each other maybe once every three or four months for the four years.

How did you guys deal with it? Lots of phone calls. When we were together, it was all vacation time. We took trips, and we even came to Japan. He was stationed here before and wanted to make sure I liked it, and I love it.

What’s your favorite part about being an OB/GYN? I like the variability of the practice. It is clinical, surgical, and though you have a lot of healthy patients, things during labor can quickly go wrong so it keeps you on your toes.

How do you rate military hospitals? I’ve worked at many hospitals, and the military system really is top-notch. The physicians and staff are absolutely great. It has been a pleasure to work here at Yokosuka.

Know someone whose accomplishments, talents, job, hobby, volunteer work, awards or good deeds qualify them for 15 minutes of fame? How about some whose claim to glory is a bit out of the ordinary — even, dare we say, oddball? Send the person’s name and contact information to: news@pstripes.osd.mil

Dr. Linda Walker

Age: 37

Location: Yokosuka Naval Hospital

Claim to fame: 2007 OB/GYN doctor

Pacific readers: Know someone whose accomplishments, talents, job, hobby, volunteer work, awards or good deeds qualify them for 15 minutes of fame? How about someone whose claim to glory is a bit out of the ordinary — even, dare we say, oddball? Call Paul Newell at Stars and Stripes with the person’s name and contact information at DSN 229-3158 or e-mail him at: newellp@pstripes.osd.mil.