Barbabella is a career military physician specializing in
emergency and tactical medicine. He completed several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during his service in the United States Navy. In 2009, during his first deployment to Afghanistan, he was injured in a blast from an
improvised explosive device and was subsequently awarded a
Purple Heart. From August 2010 to March 2012, Barbabella served as the division surgeon with the
2nd Marine Division during a year-long deployment to
Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was awarded the
Legion of Merit in 2012 for his meritorious conduct and service in that role. During that deployment, Barbabella led more than 40 medical officers and 20
physician assistants and focused on
point-of-injury care for service members in combat environments. He implemented improvements in patient tracking systems, including the Blast Exposure Concussion Incident Report and integration of blast injury documentation into
electronic medical records. He also contributed to medical training for the
Afghan National Army's
215th Corps by designing basic combat lifesaving training, which transitioned to being taught independently by Afghan personnel. Barbabella played a role in the development of the Mobile Trauma Bay, a
mobile medical facility that provided
emergency-room-level care in the field and was equipped for resuscitation with medical staff and trauma equipment. He has also served as a member of the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, which formulates battlefield trauma care guidelines. After returning to the U.S., Barbabella held the position of
executive officer at
Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune. In 2023, he took command of the
Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina. In January 2025, Barbabella left the Cherry Point clinic to join the
White House Medical Unit and serve as the
physician to the president under
Donald Trump. == Personal life ==