JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –Commanding General, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Gen. Gary Brito, visits the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE), Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, November 22, 2022. The visit was hosted by the MEDCoE Commanding General, Maj. Gen. Michael Talley.
“This is not my first visit to San Antonio, but this is my first visit to MEDCoE,” said Brito, who assumed command of TRADOC on September 8 at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.
According to Brito, who entered active duty as an infantry officer in 1987, his exposure to the Army Medical Department in past operational assignments makes him appreciate the MEDCoE mission of training and educating the Army’s medical professionals.
“I have nothing but love and deep respect for the field and what you bring to combat readiness,” said Brito.
Brito is the 18th TRADOC commanding general. He is responsible for developing, managing, and executing manpower and personnel plans, programs, and policies for the total Army. His purview includes more than 750,000 Soldiers and service members in 32 Army schools organized under 10 centers of excellence. MEDCoE, the command’s newest center of excellence, began realignment from the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) to TRADOC in 2018, though not official until October 2, 2019.
Discussing the MEDCoE’s current mission, Brito told the group that the medical, cyber, and logistics centers of excellence “touch every single modernization effort across the Army,” from his perspective, when looking through the lens of Field Manual 3-0: Operations and the Army of 2030.
The U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (USACAC) is the proponent of the new field manual that was published October 2022 and focuses on multi-domain operations. USACAC is one of five subordinate commands under TRADOC and exercises operational control of the MEDCoE.
During his visit, Brito met with over two dozen MEDCoE, U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), and Medical Education and Training Campus key leaders. He was briefed on the methods that allow nearly 3,000 permanent party personnel to effectively train and educate nearly 32,000 medical professionals annually. Brito also received a command overview brief, toured facilities at the Critical Care Flight Paramedic, Interservice Physician Assistant, and Physical Therapy programs. Brito ended the visit with lunch attended by over a dozen MEDCoE commanders, sergeants major, and program directors at the Rocco Dining Facility.
“This was a very helpful and educational brief,” Brito told Tally after the command brief, commenting on the center’s “massive lane” and breadth and depth of the mission.
After the visit, Talley, who assumed command of the MEDCoE June 23, told leaders that Brito was planning a return visit to the MEDCOE soon so that he could experience firsthand some of the unique medical training conducted at Fort Sam Houston.
Talley said, “General Brito left with a greater appreciation for both MEDCoE’s importance to the Army and the dedicated people who make up this great institution.”
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