Navigating Your Way — An Award Honoring Dr. Amit S. Malkani “Doc”
The Navigating Your Way Award is an award presented to a Recruit who has faced adversity throughout their Recruit Training Program. This may include >6 months in long term recovery (RHE and Ward), previously been discharged, rehab and return to successfully complete bootcamp or have displayed exceptional training performance.The Navigating Your Way Award Program is an award presented in partnership with the Malkani Family in memory of their beloved son, brother and uncle, Dr. Amit S. Malkani.
Dr. Amit Malkani devoted his life to the idea that every obstacle could be overcome. Although he was one of the few deaf physicians in the United States, he saw more than 100,000 of the service’s newest members as a civilian physician at the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May where he served as an advocate, friend, mentor, and a family medicine, OMM (osteopathic manipulative medicine) and wound care doctor.
Dr. Malkani was driven by the joy and connection he was able to build with recruits who, like him, were faced with challenges they were determined to overcome. He did not treat just symptoms and injuries but whole patients, whole people, countless of whom ended up inheriting his compassion, good humor, and relentless positivity, even as they were walking through some of their most difficult moments. Whether in an exam room, over a meal, or in the program he developed to rehabilitate patients through physical and aquatic therapy, Dr. Malkani had one consistent and resounding message. Th at no matter what life has thrown at you, you can. You can surpass every limitation the world has imposed on you. You can prosper in the face of every seemingly impossible challenge. You can not only survive, but triumph, because who you are is very different from the circumstances that surround you, and who you are is always enough. Dr. Malkani passed away on June 20, 2023, drowning in the waters off of the Maldives while rescuing his nephew from the ocean’s tide. A hero, leader, and servant until the end, the “Navigating Your Way” Recruit Perseverance Award honors his legacy and spirit. It is presented to a Recruit who stands out for their perseverance through adversity as a thank you for their resolve and determination in completing Recruit Basic Training for the United States Coast Guard. Semper Paratus!
