HONOLULU -- Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) held a change of command ceremony on July 15, for incoming commander, Col. Andrew M. Barr and outgoing commander, Col. David K. Dunning at the hospital's Oceanside flagpole.
Barr comes into the position of commander for the historic TAMC after serving in numerous positions during a 26-year career. Barr's previous experiences include: Deputy Commander for Clinical Services at General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Division Surgeon, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas; Basrah, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. His most recent assignment was serving as the commander of the U.S. Army Health Center in Vicenza, Italy.
"To the Tripler ohana, your reputation for excellence is widely and well- known and I am both honored and humbled to serve as your commander," said Barr. "I pledge to you my best and tireless effort and will provide you the leadership, climate, resources and training necessary for us to accomplish our mission of taking care of our patients and their families."
Brig. Gen. Bertram Providence, commanding general, Regional Health Command-Pacific, hosted the change of command ceremony and commented warmly of Dunning's tenure and his amazing leadership.
"Today we bid farewell to Col. Dunning, whose contributions are numerous," said Providence. "Dave has led this organization to new heights of great success recognized and celebrated by its most senior leaders across MEDCOM and the Department of Defense," he said.
"Col. Barr's background and experience are not only impressive, they display the exact career path that we look for in our officers to lead health care organizations and to ensure mission success," said Providence. "Col. Barr you must never forget that command is the highest privilege the Army can bestow upon a commissioned officer. We look forward to your leadership and welcome you and your family to our ohana."
As the commander of the largest medical facility in the pacific, serving nearly 400,000 people in the pacific basin, employing nearly 4,000 medical professionals as the single largest civilian employer on the island of Oahu and managing a 416 million dollar budget, Dunning has had several notable accomplishments.
Some of Dunning's accomplishments include: traffic improvements, opening a new Progressive Care Unit, beginning construction on the renovations for the new Intensive Care Unit, bringing inpatient room-service to the hospital and expanding education, training and research at TAMC.
"It is a sad day to bid farewell, but as I do, I do it with pride," said Dunning. "I have had the privilege of commanding the best hospital, and there is no doubt about that, in the military health system. I am especially proud of our performance in the areas of quality, access, patient satisfaction and readiness. Tripler excels as the premier health readiness platform in the pacific basin in support of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. The spirit of ohana permeates the soul of this organization. Aloha. Mahalo nui loa."
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