The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD). By policy, the Surgeon General (TSG) serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as well as head of the AMEDD. The surgeon general's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) and are located in

Falls Church Falls Church City is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is part of both Northern Virginia and the Washington metropolitan area. As of 2020, it has ...

, Virginia. Since 1959, TSG has been appointed in the grade of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. By law, TSG may be appointed from any of the six officer branches of the AMEDD. However, prior to the 43rd Surgeon General, Lt. Gen.

Patricia Horoho Patricia D. Horoho (née Dallas; born March 21, 1960) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the 43rd Surgeon General of the United States Army and Commanding General of the United States Army Medical Command. She was t ...

— an Army Nurse Corps officer — all appointed and confirmed surgeons general have been

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are exam ...

officers — military physicians. The incumbent Surgeon General is Lieutenant General Mary K. Izaguirre.

Duties

As a commanding general, TSG provides advice and assistance to the Chief of Staff, Army (CSA) and to the

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

(SECARMY) on all health care matters pertaining to the U.S. Army and its military health care system. The incumbent is responsible for development, policy direction, organization and overall management of an integrated Army-wide health service system and is the medical materiel developer for the Army. These duties include formulating policy regulations on health service support, health hazard assessment and the establishment of health standards. is assisted by the Deputy Surgeon General.

History

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

established the Medical Service of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

on July 27, 1775, and placed a "Chief physician & director general" of the Continental Army as its head. The first five surgeons general of the U.S. Army served under this title. An

Act of Congress An act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...

of May 28, 1789, established a "Physician general" of the U.S. Army. Only two physicians, doctors Richard Allison and James Craik, served under this nomenclature. A Congressional Act of March 3, 1813, cited the "Physician & surgeon general" of the U.S. Army. That nomenclature remained in place until the Medical Department was established by the Reorganization Act of April 14, 1818. Additionally, physicians assigned to the U.S. Army were not accorded military rank until 1847.

Surgeons General of the U.S. Army and their precursors

*Note: The AMEDD Museum at

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a United States Army, U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam", it is named for the first president o ...

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, has a display on the Army Surgeons General, including images of each one, except for Richard Allison.

Agencies, centers, offices, and programs within the OTSG

Military Vaccine Agency The Military Vaccine Agency (MILVAX) is a U.S. government program operating within the Office of the U.S. Army Surgeon General which supports all five U.S. Armed Services to enhance military medical readiness by coordinating United States Departme ...

(MILVAX) *

Borden Institute The Borden Institute is a U.S. Army “Center of Excellence in Military Medical Research and Education”. In 1987, U.S. Army Colonel Russ Zajtchuk conceived the idea for a “Center of Excellence in Military Medical Research and Education,” u ...

U.S. Army Medical Information Technology Center The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

(USAMITC) * Army Human Research Protections Office (AHRPO) *

Pharmacovigilance Center Pharmacovigilance (PV, or PhV), also known as drug safety, is the pharmaceutical science relating to the "collection, detection, assessment, monitoring, and prevention" of adverse effects with pharmaceutical products. The etymological roots fo ...

References and notes

*Heitman, Francis B. (1903), ''Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, from Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903''; Washington, DC: Government Printing Office; 2 vol. (Vol. 1, pp 41–42 details the Medical Department.)

External links

*
OTSG Portal

Surgeon General Consultant Program

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Surgeon General, Army United States Military medicine in the United States * *Surgeon 1813 establishments in the United States