FORT DETRICK, Md. -- Maj. Calvin King, director of the Materiel Readiness Directorate under U.S. Army Medical Logistics Command’s Support Operations, is one of the newest members of the Order of Military Medical Merit.
Also known as O2M3, the prestigious organization was founded in 1982 by the commanding general of the U.S. Army Health Services Command. It serves to recognize excellence and promote fellowship and esprit de corps among Army Medical Department personnel.
Membership in O2M3 denotes distinguished service that is recognized by Army Medicine senior leadership, signified by a sterling silver medallion and maroon ribbon.
King received his during an awards ceremony May 16 at Fort Detrick.
“This honor is like a lifetime achievement award,” King said. “I have dedicated the majority of my life to medical logistics.”
According to the U.S. Army Medical Department Center of History and Heritage, O2M3 membership is granted to individuals who have clearly demonstrated the highest standards of integrity and moral character. They also must have displayed an outstanding degree of professional competence, served in the AMEDD for a minimum of 15 years with selflessness, and have made a sustained contribution to the betterment of Army Medicine.
King initially joined the Army Reserve in 1994, enlisting as a medical supply specialist. He rose to the rank of sergeant first class, last serving at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center-Southwest Asia, before receiving direct commission into the Medical Services Corps in 2008. He entered active-duty service a year later.
He has served in a variety of leadership and staff positions over his nearly 30-year career, as well as deployed in support of operations Enduring Freedom, New Dawn and Iraqi Freedom. King’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medal.
King, who holds a Master of Business Administration from Kansas State University, said earning membership in O2M3 has been a career goal for a long time, adding that he is “incredibly humbled” by the honor.
“This is an incredibly significant award to me,” he said. “All the medically aligned officers that I look up to and see as mentors, direct or indirect, have earned this award. I fully appreciate the honor of joining their ranks, as well as understand the responsibility of stewarding the profession that this honor requires of me.”
King was joined by his wife, Dionna, and 6-year-old daughter, Stella, which came as a surprise along with the award itself.
“I assumed that I was receiving my PCS award, so I was completely caught off guard when my wife and daughter were brought in for the presentation,” he said. “Nobody let on that I was about to get this award, so it made it an incredibly special surprise and a moment to remember.”
Fellow O2M3 member Col. Clayton Carr, AMLC’s assistant chief of staff for operations who nominated King for the award, proudly placed the O2M3 medallion around King’s neck during the ceremony.
“Maj. King has served with honor in countless vital and demanding Army Medical Department leadership positions during his career, in peace and combat,” Carr said. “Through extraordinary leadership, integrity and skill, he has improved every unit to which he belonged while placing Soldiers and civilians first.”
AMLC, headquartered at Fort Detrick, is the Army’s premier medical logistics organization and serves as the life cycle management command for medical materiel.
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