OFFICE OF THE SURGEON GENERAL Falls Church, Va. (Dec. 11, 2015) -- The Senate confirmed Thursday Maj. Gen. Nadja West to serve as the new Army Surgeon General and Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM).
With the appointment as the 44th Surgeon General, West picks up a third star to become the Army's first black female to hold the rank of lieutenant general.
She most recently served as the Joint Staff Surgeon at the Pentagon. West's appointment as Army Surgeon General is effective immediately.
The Army Surgeon General provides advice and assistance to the Secretary of the Army and Army Chief of Staff on all health care matters pertaining to the U.S. Army and its military health care system. West will be 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.
Dual-hatted as the MEDCOM commanding general, West will oversee more than 48 medical treatment facilities providing care to nearly 4 million active duty members of all services, retirees and their Family members. MEDCOM is composed of three regional health commands, the Medical Research and Materiel Command, and Army Medical Department Center & School.
West holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Doctorate of Medicine from George Washington University School of Medicine. She has held previous assignments as Commanding General, Europe Regional Medical Command; Commander of Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, N.C.; and Division Surgeon, 1st Armored Division, Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany.
West hails from the District of Columbia, and she finished high school at the Academy of the Holy Names in Silver Spring, Md.
With this appointment she becomes the first black Army Surgeon General and the highest ranking female to have graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point.
For more information, please contact Stephanie Abdullah, Media Relations Officer, at 703-681-8689 or email her at Stephanie.p.abdullah.civ@mail.mil.
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