The U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) is a direct reporting unit of the U.S. Army that formerly provided command and control of the Army's fixed-facility medical, dental, and veterinary treatment facilities, providing preventive care, medical research and development and training institutions. On 1 October 2019, operational and administrative control of all military medical facilities transitioned to the Defense Health Agency.
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on 113 acres (46 ha) in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the United States Armed Forces. The center was named after Walter Reed, a U.S. Army physician and sergeant who led the team that confirmed that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes rather than direct physical contact.
The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army (AMEDD), formerly known as the Army Medical Service (AMS), encompasses the Army's six medical Special Branches. It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the medical care required by the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The AMEDD is led by the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army, a lieutenant general.
The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one year of post-graduate clinical training, and a state medical license.
Frank Finley Ledford Jr. was an American orthopedic surgeon who served as the 37th Surgeon General of the United States Army from 1988 to 1992.
Charles McKnight was an American physician during and after the American Revolutionary War. He served as a surgeon and physician in the Hospital Department of the Continental Army under General George Washington and other subordinate commanders. McKnight was one of the most respected surgeons of his day and was remembered by one colleague as "particularly distinguished as a practical surgeon … at the time of his death (he) was without a rival in that branch of his profession."
Brigadier General Carl Rogers Darnall was a United States Army chemist and surgeon credited with originating the technique of liquid chlorination of drinking water. Chlorination has been an exceedingly important innovation in public health, saving innumerable lives.
James Madison Robertson was a career United States Army artillery officer who commanded the First Brigade of U.S. Horse Artillery during the American Civil War.
Rufus King Jr. was an artillery officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a Medal of Honor recipient.
Harvey Brown was an American military officer who fought in the Black Hawk and Seminole Wars, the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. He was also in command of military forces in New York City and later assisted in putting down the New York Draft Riots in 1863. His son Harvey E. Brown, Jr. also had a prominent military career as a surgeon and later historian of the U.S. Army Medical Department.
Abimael Youngs Nicoll was an officer in the United States Army who served as Adjutant General and acting Inspector General of the U.S. Army from 1807 to 1812.
The U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE) is located at Fort Sam Houston, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. MEDCoE comprises the 32d Medical Brigade, the U.S. Army Medical Professional Training Brigade (MPTB), and the AMEDD Noncommissioned Officers Academy (NCOA). It serves the U.S. Army in educating and training all of its medical personnel. The Center formulates the Army Medical Department's (AMEDD's) organization, tactics, doctrine, equipment, and academic training support. In 2015, the mission for the Academy of Health Sciences (AHS) moved from the School to the Center, and was renamed the Department of Training and Academic Affairs (DoTAA) as result of a reorganization.
Thomas Lawson was an American physician who served as Surgeon General of the United States Army for over 24 years.
John Francis Weston was a Union Army officer in the American Civil War and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during a raid on Confederate shipping. He was a brigadier general of United States Volunteers in the Spanish–American War. Weston retired from the U.S. regular army in 1909 as a major general. Having been assistant commissary general of subsistence and commissary general of subsistence from 1897 to 1905, including commissary general for the American forces in Cuba during the Spanish–American War, Weston finished his career as the highest ranking U.S. Army officer in the Philippines and, in the last year of his service, as commander of the Department of California.
Edmund Kirby was a United States Army artillery officer who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
The Office of the Inspector General(OTIG) serves to "provide impartial, objective and unbiased advice and oversight to the Army through relevant, timely and thorough inspection, assistance, investigations, and training." The position has existed since 1777, when Thomas Conway was appointed the first inspector. The department was reorganized many times, and almost abolished on several occasions. In its early days, the department was frequently merged with, or proposed to be part of the Adjutant General. It expanded greatly after the American Civil War, to the point that it had around 2,000 officers in 1993. The current holder of the position is Donna W. Martin.
United States Army Hospital Corps was organized in 1886 in order to recruit and retain competent medical enlisted personnel in the United States Army Medical Department for field service in the event of a foreign war. Existing Hospital Stewards were not trained to perform duties as field medical personnel. The Corps was recruited from enlisted men who had served one year in the line. After training they were transferred to a post where they would be assigned duties as nurse, cook or medical attendant. Privates having served twelve months in the Corps could be recommended for promotion. Having passed an examination they were promoted to Acting Hospital Stewards (Sergeant). Promotion to full Hospital Steward was possible after one year's service in an acting capacity and after having passed a second and more rigorous examination. The peak strength of the Corps was reached in November 1898, during the Spanish–American War, with about 6,000 men serving in the Corps.
The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps uses the same commissioned officer rank structure as the United States Navy and Coast Guard: from ensign to admiral. While the commissioned corps is authorized to use warrant officer ranks W-1 to W-4 under the U.S. Code of law, it does not currently use these ranks.
