Surgeon General of the United States Army
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Surgeon General of the United States Army | |
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![]() Army Staff Identification Badge | |
![]() Flag of the Surgeon General of the Army, depicting the caduceus | |
since January 25, 2024 | |
Abbreviation | TSG |
Reports to | |
Seat | The Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia, United States |
Appointer | The President with United States Senate's advice and consent |
Term length | 4 years |
Constituting instrument | 10 U.S.C. § 3036 |
Formation | March 13, 1813 |
First holder | Benjamin Church, Jr. |
Deputy | Deputy Surgeon General of the Army |
Website | Army.mil/ArmyMedicine |
The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD). By policy, the Surgeon General (TSG) serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as well as head of the AMEDD. The surgeon general's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) and are located in Falls Church, Virginia.
Since 1959, TSG has been appointed in the grade of lieutenant general. By law, TSG may be appointed from any of the six officer branches of the AMEDD. However, prior to the 43rd Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho — an Army Nurse Corps officer — all appointed and confirmed surgeons general have been Medical Corps officers — military physicians. The incumbent Surgeon General is Lieutenant General Mary K. Izaguirre.
Duties
As a commanding general, TSG provides advice and assistance to the Chief of Staff, Army (CSA) and to the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY) on all health care matters pertaining to the U.S. Army and its military health care system. The incumbent is responsible for development, policy direction, organization and overall management of an integrated Army-wide health service system and is the medical materiel developer for the Army. These duties include formulating policy regulations on health service support, health hazard assessment and the establishment of health standards. TSG is assisted by the Deputy Surgeon General.
History
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Congress established the Medical Service of the Continental Army on July 27, 1775, and placed a "Chief physician & director general" of the Continental Army as its head. The first five surgeons general of the U.S. Army served under this title. An Act of Congress of May 28, 1789, established a "Physician general" of the U.S. Army. Only two physicians, doctors Richard Allison and James Craik, served under this nomenclature. A Congressional Act of March 3, 1813, cited the "Physician & surgeon general" of the U.S. Army. That nomenclature remained in place until the Medical Department was established by the Reorganization Act of April 14, 1818. Additionally, physicians assigned to the U.S. Army were not accorded military rank until 1847.
Surgeons General of the U.S. Army and their precursors
No. | Image | Name | Dates of Tenure | Military Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Benjamin Church, Jr. | July 27, 1775–October 16, 1775 | None |
2 | ![]() |
John Morgan | October 16, 1775–January 1777 | None |
3 | ![]() |
William Shippen, Jr. | April 11, 1777–January 17, 1781 | None |
4 | ![]() |
John Cochran | January 17, 1781–1783 | None |
1783–1792 | ||||
5 | Richard Allison | 1792–1796 | None | |
1796–August 1, 1798 | ||||
6 | ![]() |
James Craik | August 1, 1798–June 15, 1800 | None |
June 15, 1800–June 11, 1813 | ||||
7 | ![]() |
James Tilton | June 11, 1813–June 15, 1815 | None |
June 15, 1815–April 18, 1818 | ||||
8 | ![]() |
Joseph Lovell | April 18, 1818–October 17, 1836 | None |
9 | ![]() |
Thomas Lawson | October 17, 1836–May 15, 1861 | ![]() |
10 | ![]() |
Clement Finley | May 15, 1861–April 28, 1862 | ![]() |
11 | ![]() |
William A. Hammond | April 28, 1862–August 18, 1864 | ![]() |
12 | ![]() |
Joseph Barnes | August 18, 1864–June 30, 1882 | ![]() |
June 30, 1882–July 3, 1882 | ||||
13 | ![]() |
Charles H. Crane | July 3, 1882–October 10, 1883 | ![]() |
14 | ![]() |
Robert Murray | October 10, 1883–August 6, 1886 | ![]() |
August 6, 1886–November 18, 1886 | ||||
15 | ![]() |
John Moore | November 18, 1886–16 August 1890 | ![]() |
16 | ![]() |
Jedediah Hyde Baxter | August 16, 1890–December 4, 1890 | ![]() |
December 4, 1890–December 23, 1890 | ||||
17 | ![]() |
Charles Sutherland | December 23, 1890–May 30, 1893 | ![]() |
18 | ![]() |
George Miller Sternberg | May 30, 1893– June 8, 1902 | ![]() |
19 | ![]() |
William H. Forwood | June 8, 1902– September 7, 1902 | ![]() |
20 | ![]() |
Robert Maitland O'Reilly | September 7, 1902–January 14, 1909 | ![]() |
21 | ![]() |
George H. Torney | January 14, 1909–December 27, 1913 | ![]() |
22 | ![]() |
William C. Gorgas | January 1914–1918 | ![]() |
23 | ![]() |
Merritte W. Ireland | October 4, 1918–May 31, 1931 | ![]() |
24 | ![]() |
Robert U. Patterson | 1931–1935 | ![]() |
25 | ![]() |
Charles R. Reynolds | 1935–1939 | ![]() |
26 | ![]() |
James C. Magee | June 1, 1939–May 31, 1943 | ![]() |
27 | ![]() |
Norman T. Kirk | 1943–1947 | ![]() |
28 | ![]() |
Raymond W. Bliss | 1947–1951 | ![]() |
29 | George E. Armstrong | 1951–1955 | ![]() | |
30 | ![]() |
Silas B. Hays | 1955–June 1959 | ![]() |
31 | ![]() |
Leonard D. Heaton | June 1959–1969 | ![]() |
32 | ![]() |
Hal B. Jennings | October 10, 1969–October 1, 1973 | ![]() |
33 | ![]() |
Richard R. Taylor | October 1, 1973–October 1, 1977 | ![]() |
34 | ![]() |
Charles C. Pixley | October 1, 1977– September 20, 1981 | ![]() |
35 | ![]() |
Bernhard T. Mittemeyer | October 1, 1981–February 1, 1985 | ![]() |
36 | ![]() |
Quinn H. Becker | February 1, 1985–May 31, 1988[1] | ![]() |
37 | ![]() |
Frank F. Ledford Jr. | June 1, 1988–June 30, 1992[1] | ![]() |
38 | ![]() |
Alcide M. Lanoue | September 8, 1992–September 30, 1996[1] | ![]() |
39 | ![]() |
Ronald R. Blanck | October 1, 1996– September 22, 2000[1] | ![]() |
40 | ![]() |
James Peake | September 22, 2000 – July 8, 2004 | ![]() |
July 8, 2004 – September 30, 2004 | ||||
41 | ![]() |
Kevin C. Kiley | September 30, 2004–March 12, 2007 | ![]() ![]() |
March 12, 2007–December 11, 2007 | ||||
42 | ![]() |
Eric Schoomaker | December 11, 2007–December 5, 2011 | ![]() |
43 | ![]() |
Patricia Horoho | December 5, 2011–December 3, 2015 | ![]() |
December 3, 2015–December 11, 2015 | ||||
44 | ![]() |
Nadja West | December 11, 2015–July 19, 2019 | ![]() |
July 19, 2019–October 17, 2019 | ||||
45 | ![]() |
R. Scott Dingle | October 17, 2019–January 25, 2024 | ![]() |
46 | ![]() |
Mary K. Izaguirre | January 25, 2024–present | ![]() |
- Note: The AMEDD Museum at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, has a display on the Army Surgeons General, including images of each one, except for Richard Allison.
Agencies, centers, offices, and programs within the OTSG
![]() |
- Military Vaccine Agency (MILVAX)
- Borden Institute
- U.S. Army Medical Information Technology Center (USAMITC)
- Army Human Research Protections Office (AHRPO)
- Pharmacovigilance Center
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/LibraryandMuseumof_theSurgeonGeneral%27sOffice.jpg/220px-LibraryandMuseumof_theSurgeonGeneral%27sOffice.jpg)
- Library of the Surgeon General's Office, now the National Library of Medicine
- Medical Corps (United States Army)
- Surgeon General of the United States
- Surgeon General of the United States Navy
- Surgeon General of the United States Air Force
Further reading
- Heitman, Francis B. (1903). Historical register and dictionary of the United States Army: from its organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. hdl:2027/mdp.39015008097027. LCCN 03023852. OCLC 558132723.
- Heitman, Francis B. (1903). Historical register and dictionary of the United States Army: from its organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903. Vol. 2. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. hdl:2027/mdp.39015008097035. OCLC 1062849539.
References and notes
- ^ a b c d Steahly, Lance P.; Cannon, David W. Sr (2018). The Evolution of Forward Surgery in the US Army: From the Revolutionary War to the Combat Operations of the 21st Century. Government Printing Office. ISBN 9780160947841. Retrieved 2021-10-20.
- Heitman, Francis B. (1903), Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903; Washington, DC: Government Printing Office; 2 vol. (Vol. 1, pp 41–42 details the Medical Department.)
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Official website
- OTSG Portal
- Surgeon General Consultant Program
- The Surgeons General of the U.S. Army and Their Predecessors at the Office of Medical History, OTSG Website
- Works by or about Surgeon General of the United States Army at the Internet Archive
- Works by Surgeon General of the United States Army at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)