JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii – Brig. Gen. Jack M. Davis, commanding general, Regional Health Command-Pacific, and Command Sgt. Maj. Abuoh E. Neufville, hosted the region’s 2021 Spring Commander's Symposium May 4-6, at the Tradewinds Club here.
The theme of the symposium was ‘Ready Pacific,’ with an emphasis on RHC-P’s role in enabling a ready medical force across the Indo-Pacific Command.
"As we get into MEDCOM’s pivot to readiness, we’re looking at what that means for us here in the Pacific, and how we support it,” said Davis.
With readiness at the forefront of discussions throughout the symposium, attendees came together virtually and in-person from around the Pacific region.
Participants heard from senior leaders from across the U.S. Army, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Defense Health Agency, and U.S. Army Medical Department, about important strategic topics impacting military medicine, readiness, workforce development, and healthcare delivery.
Day one of the symposium kicked-off with a briefing from Cmdr. Shawn Clausen, chief of Force Health Protection, INDOPACOM, who provided an overview of INDOPACOM’s response to COVID-19.
Col. Nelson So, commander of the 47th Combat Support Hospital at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., gave an update on the hospital’s conversion to a Hospital Center and Field Hospital from its current configuration as a CSH.
The second day began with a briefing on the DHA transition from Maj. Gen. Telita Crosland, deputy surgeon general, MEDCOM. Sgt. Maj. Jimmy Sellers, deputy chief of staff, U.S. Army Logistics (G-4), gave a presentation on the relationship between officers and non-commissioned officers.
Col. Deydree S. Teyhen, chief of the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps, gave a presentation on improving the health, fitness, and readiness of our force. Teyhen has recently been serving as the Department of Defense therapeutics lead for the federal government’s COVID-19 response operations.
At the end of the day, Dr. Brian Lein, assistant director, health care administration, DHA, discussed clinical readiness opportunities.
On day three, leaders received an update on Professional Military Education from Maj. Gen. Dennis LeMaster, commanding general, Medical Center of Excellence.
Attendees also heard from Mrs. Veronica Dudley, director, MEDCOM Intelligence and Security, and Mr. Richard Beauchemin, chief of staff, MEDCOM, who addressed the topic of Army civilians and their transition to DHA. Closing out the symposium was Maj. Gen. Michael Place, commanding general, 18th Medical Command, who spoke about the battlefield of the future and how Army medicine will be engaged.
At the conclusion of the event, Davis, the RHC-P commanding general, expressed his appreciation to each of the speakers for their informative updates.
Davis also thanked leaders for participating both in-person and virtually. He also recognized the RHC-P staff the planning and implementation of a successful symposium.
RHC-P, headquartered at JBLM and in Honolulu, is the most geographically-dispersed command in Army Medicine, stretching more than 5,000 miles and five time zones across the Pacific. The command oversees Army medical treatment facilities and units in the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Hawaii, Japan and South Korea.
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