MADIGAN ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. -- On a beautiful spring afternoon in the Pacific Northwest, Madigan’s Behavioral Health Service Line (BHSL) Director, Lt. Col. (P) Osceola M. Evans, was promoted to the rank of Colonel on Friday, April 4, 2025. He has been a Medical Service Corps (MSC) officer since 2003 and is a 73A Licensed Clinical Social Worker. The promotion ceremony, held in Letterman Auditorium at Madigan Army Medical Center, was attended by friends, family, colleagues, and leaders from around the organization and beyond. Brig. Gen. Clinton K. Murray, Commanding General, United States Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE) and Chief of the U.S Army Medical Corps, presided over the ceremony. The event was filled with honor, tradition, and symbolism.
The promotion ceremony for Col. Evans, named the “U.S. Army’s Social Worker of the Year” in 2022, is a bit poetic. Back in 2011, a then Capt. Evans, after graduating from a first-of-its-kind Master's in Social Work program developed by the Army Medical Department Center and School at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, was a social work intern in the Social Work Internship Program (SWIP) at Madigan Army Medical Center. Ironically, Col. Evans, as Director of BHSL and Director of Psychological Health at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, has had the opportunity to support that same effort in his role as Director of Madigan’s BHSL, which SWIP falls under.
“It’s a full-circle moment for me and my family,” Evans said. “After all these years being back here at JBLM, has been special and I feel honored not only to be entrusted as Director of BHSL, but to continue efforts to improve services and reach more warfighters, their families, and those who need our help. We have an amazing team, and I am honored to provide care alongside such a dedicated team,” said Evans.
Indeed, Madigan’s BHSL has been committed to providing resources for any identified need. Working diligently to erode the stigma surrounding mental health and talking to someone about it. “Madigan's BHSL offers comprehensive mental health services to all service members and their families. These services can be engaged through your primary care manager or, for service members, through your unit’s Embedded Behavioral Health clinic,” Evans added.
During his tenure, Madigan BHSL launched “Targeted Care” in 2024, a new Defense Health Agency initiative that provides a new approach at behavioral health clinics to help improve access to mental health resources. The targeted care model uses a team-based approach to deliver technician-level care to the patient and connects service members with non-clinical and clinical resources, depending on their mental health experience.
“Targeted care helps us give the right mental health support for each individual's specific needs, whether it’s an individual appointment, group therapy or non-clinical support,” Evans said.
“It’s important to note,” he said, “that there are instances where our ability to cope with stressors erodes, despite our efforts. When I was a Behavioral Health Chief, I lost someone close to me to suicide, and I took my own advice to connect with a counselor; it was the wisest thing I could do at the time to help with the grief, In times like those,” he said, “it’s essential to reach out for help, and if you see someone who needs help, please don’t hesitate to connect them as well.”
For more information on Madigan’s Behavioral Health Service Line (BHSL), visit: https://madigan.tricare.mil/Health-Services/Behavioral-Health
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