FORT BELVOIR, Va. - The Northern Regional Medical Command will hold a Relinquishment of Command ceremony Jan. 8, at 10 a.m. in the Thurman Auditorium, Humphreys Hall, Bldg. 247, Fort Belvoir, Va. The Army Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, will host the ceremony.

Brig. Gen. Joseph Caravalho, Jr., will relinquish command to Col. Donald R. West. West will serve as interim commanding general. Caravalho, nominated for promotion to Maj. Gen, will assume command of Fort Detrick (Md.) and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command.

Colonel West is a graduate of the Army Medical Department Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne and Air Assault Schools, Army Rotary Wing Flight School, Combined Arms and Services Staff School, the Command and General Staff College, and the National War College. His command, staff assignments, and deployments have taken him to Panama, Honduras, Korea, Germany, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Balkans, and Iraq.

Caravalho has served as the NRMC commanding general since July 29, 2011, helping lead the region through are period of significant change, especially in the National Capital region as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 2005, which directed the closure of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Caravalho, a medical doctor, has medical specialty training in internal medicine, nuclear medicine and cardiology.