On March 11 Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, Army Surgeon General and Commanding General of Army Medical Command, submitted his request to retire from the U.S. Army to Acting Secretary of the Army Pete Geren. Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, current Deputy Surgeon General, immediately assumed the Surgeon General's duties.
Acting Secretary Geren further directed March 11 the immediate convening of the required advisory board who will recommend a slate of candidates from among officers in the Army Medical Department for consideration as the next Surgeon General. Title 10, United States Code requires such a board. The officer ultimately selected must be approved by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. This board will be announced as soon as possible with the intent to convene on a date in April. Major General Pollock will execute the duties of The Surgeon General/Commanding General, Army Medical Command until a new officer is named.
"We must move quickly to fill this position - this leader will have a key role in moving the way forward in meeting the needs of our wounded warriors," Geren said March 12. "We have an Army Action Plan underway under the leadership of the Vice Chief of Staff, Army, General Dick Cody, and the Surgeon General has a critical role in the execution of that plan. I am confident Maj. Gen. Pollock will ably lead the Army Medical Department during this transition period."
"I submitted my retirement because I think it is in the best interest of the Army," Kiley said yesterday. "I want to allow Acting Secretary Geren, General Schoomaker, and the leaders of the Army Medical Command to focus completely on the way ahead and the Army Action Plan to improve all aspects of Soldier care. We are an Army Medical Department at war, supporting an Army at war - it shouldn't be and it isn't about one doctor."
Kiley was appointed the 41st Surgeon General of the Army and Commander, U.S. Army Medical Command, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, on Sept. 30, 2004. He started his military career July 1, 1976, appointed as an Army captain serving a surgical internship and then an obstetrics and gynecology residency at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas. He received his medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington D.C. He is a board-certified OB/GYN and a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Penn.
"It has been my honor and my privilege to serve this Nation and her Soldiers for over thirty years," Kiley said. "I have the greatest respect for former Secretary Harvey, Acting Secretary Geren, and the senior Army leadership under General Schoomaker and General Cody. And I could not be prouder of the incredible Americans in the Army Medical Command who care for the warriors who have volunteered and sacrificed so much to defend our country and our way of life. I was blessed to have walked among them."
"We thank Lt. Gen Kiley for his dedication to duty and long years of service," said Acting Secretary Geren March 12.
Maj. Gen. Gale S. Pollock became the U.S. Army Deputy Surgeon General in October 2006. Pollock received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Maryland. She attended the U.S. Army Nurse Anesthesia Program and is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). She received her Master of Business Administration from Boston University; a Master's in Healthcare Administration from Baylor University, a Master's in National Security and Strategy from the National Defense University, and an honorary Doctorate of Public Service from the University of Maryland. She is also a Fellow in The American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).
Pollock's last position was Commanding General, Tripler Army Medical Center, Pacific Regional Medical Command, U.S. Army Pacific Surgeon; and Lead Agent, TRICARE Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii. Her military education includes the Department of Defense CAPSTONE Program; the Senior Service College at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces; the U.S. Air Force War College; the Interagency Institute for Federal Health Care Executives; the Military Health System CAPSTONE program; the Principles of Advanced Nurse Administrators; and the NATO Staff Officer Course.
Her past military assignments include Special Assistant to the Surgeon General for Information Management and Health Policy; Commander, Martin Army Community Hospital, Fort Benning, Ga.; Commander, U.S. Army Medical Activity, Fort Drum, N.Y.; Staff Officer, Strategic Initiatives Command Group for the Army Surgeon General; Department of Defense Healthcare Advisor to the Congressional Commission on Service Members and Veterans Transition Assistance; Health Fitness Advisor at the National Defense University; Senior Policy Analyst in Health Affairs, DoD; and Chief, Anesthesia Nursing Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
Pollock's awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with 2 oak leaf clusters), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with 4 oak leaf clusters), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Army Achievement Medal. She earned the coveted Expert Field Medical Badge, and is proud to wear the Parachutist Badge. She received the Army Staff Identification Badge for her work at the Pentagon and earned the German Armed Forces Military Efficiency Badge "Leistungsabzeichen" in gold.
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For more information, contact Paul Boyce, U.S. Army Public Affairs: (703) 697-2564.
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