FORT SILL, Okla. (July 17, 2014) -- The Fort Sill Dental Activity (DENTAC) graduated the 2014 class of the Comanche Advanced Education in General Dentistry-1 Year Program on July 11 at the New Post Chapel.
Eight dental officers completed the rigorous one-year post-doctoral program as Fort Sill celebrates 120 years of continuous dental services being offered here.
Maj. Nathan Parrish, Comanche AEGD-1 Year program director, spoke highly of the first class to graduate since he became director.
"I want to tell you how proud I am of these eight people you see here. They have spent nine years to get to where they are today -- four years of college, four years to get a doctor's degree and one year in this post-doctorate residency."
Parrish said that the one-year program was like completing the last couple miles of a marathon.
"These folk have maintained a positive attitude and presented themselves to the Army as wonderful officers. But more importantly, they did it as a team, and that is why I am so very proud of them," Parrish said.
Col. Arthur Scott, Corps Specific Branch Proponent Officer from Joint Base San Antonio/Fort Sam Houston, Texas was the graduation speaker. He spoke of the importance of the program to the Army, and what the graduates have accomplished.
"This program is intensive clinical training that takes what they have learned in dental school and advances them clinically, probably three to five years beyond where their peers were after they all went through dental school," Scott said, adding that Fort Sill is one of six installations that offers the advanced program.
"We have eight residents graduating here, multiplied by five other locations, so we have 48 residents who are graduating after one year of training across the United States," he said. "This one-year advanced program is critical in Army dentistry."
Scott went on to challenge the graduating dental officers to maintain the highest standards in their profession.
"Credibility and respect are a must in our profession. Both of these must be earned and not just assumed. You are now dental officers, not just Army dentists. And we have to earn the same kind of credibility that other officers who hold your rank, because when you are in that uniform you look just like every other captain. When those young Soldiers you care for see you, they expect you to be a credible leader," he said.
"The Army relies on the dental command to help maintain medical readiness of the forces. If you look at our military history, when there have been conflicts, there also has been dental disease that has plagued our forces. So our role is to do all the dental support for the Army," Scott said. "And as our combat missions have slowed down a little bit over the past year, dental units have begun to do some really good things beyond just readiness needs, and now more focused on wellness needs, dental-wise, for the Soldiers."
"When you go to your next posting you will be starting over as a new name, and you will have to prove yourself all over again. So it is important when you go to your new duty post that you step up and earn your credibility as a professional," Scott said.
Col. Michael Roberts, Fort Sill DENTAC commander and dean of the Comanche AEGD-1 Year program, thanked the residents on a job well done.
"You have melded into a very sharp, respectable and wonderful group of dental officers, and you all know how I feel about that. You are Soldiers first and dental professionals second. Moreover, you are all in a class by yourself. Congratulations to you," Roberts said.
The eight graduates of the 2014 Comanche AEGD-1 residency program are:
- Capt. In Kwon, born in South Korea and raised in Raleigh, N.C. He and his wife, Sang Eun, will be stationed at Camp Casey, Korea.
- Capt. Mark Lamborn, from Edmond, Wash. He and his wife, Poala, will be stationed at Katterbach, Germany.
- Capt. Lisa McEvoy, raised in Aurora, Colo. She and her husband, Michael, will be stationed at Fort Riley, Kan.
- Capt. Rachael Misuraca, from Gloucester, Mass., will be stationed in Baumholder, Germany.
- Capt. Daniel Sharpstein from Maitland, Fla. He and his wife, Kathryn, will be stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga.
- Capt. Kourtney Simpson was born at Fort Bragg, N.C., and will be stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky.
- Capt. Jennifer Taylor, raised in Clayton, Del., will be stationed in Hawaii.
- Capt. Jake Wilding, from Centerville, Utah. He and his wife, Whitney, will be stationed in Grafenwoehr, Germany.
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