Major General Kenneth Lloyd Farmer Jr. (born April 13, 1950) commanded

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC), officially known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951, was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in Washington, D.C., it served more ...

and

North Atlantic Regional Medical Command North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

from June 2004 to August 2006.

Biography

A family practice physician, he earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

, and a medical degree from the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

. He received his medical specialty training at

Eisenhower Army Medical Center The Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center (EAMC) is a 93-bed medical treatment facility located on Fort Eisenhower, GA, located near Augusta, Georgia that previously served as the headquarters of the Army's Southeast Regional Medical Command ...

Fort Gordon Fort Gordon, formerly known as Fort Eisenhower and Camp Gordon, is a United States Army installation established southwest of Augusta, Georgia in October 1941. It is the current home of the United States Army Signal Corps, United States Army Cy ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, and at

Madigan Army Medical Center The Madigan Army Medical Center, located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord just outside Lakewood, Washington, is a key component of the Madigan Healthcare System and one of the largest military hospitals on the West Coast of the United States, West Coas ...

Fort Lewis Fort Lewis may refer to: * Fort Lewis (Colorado), a former United States Army post (1878–1891) in the U.S. State of Colorado ** Fort Lewis College, a college in the Durango, Colorado, United States ** Fort Lewis Skyhawks, athletic teams of Fort L ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. He is also a graduate of the Army's

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

and the Army War College. Farmer commanded the

and

from June 2004 to August 25, 2006. Prior to this, Farmer served as the Deputy Surgeon General for the U.S. Army and as the chief of staff for U.S. Army Medical Command. Farmer grew up in

Leeds, Alabama Leeds is a tricounty municipality in Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson, St. Clair County, Alabama, St. Clair, and Shelby County, Alabama, Shelby counties in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is an eastern suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingha ...

. His father, Kenneth L. Farmer Sr., was a prisoner of war during World War II and survivor of the

Bataan Death March The Bataan Death March was the Death march, forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp ...

. Farmer and his wife have four adult sons.

Awards

His military awards and decorations include

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

Defense Superior Service Medal The Defense Superior Service Medal (DSSM) is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members who perform superior meritorious service in a position of significant ...

(two awards), the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(four awards), the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, the

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

(four awards), the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

, the

Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

(two awards), and various service and unit awards. He holds the Expert Field Medical Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the

Air Assault Badge The Air Assault Badge, U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, dated 18 January 1978, last accessed 16 October 2020 is awarded by the U.S. Army for successful completion of the United States Army Air Assault School, Air Assault School. The course includes ...

, and is an Army flight surgeon. He has also been awarded the

Order of Military Medical Merit The Order of Military Medical Merit (02M3) is a private organization that was founded by the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Health Services Command in 1982 with the goal of recognizing excellence and promoting fellowship and ''esprit de corp ...

Walter Reed Army Medical Center Controversy

In February 2007, ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' ran a series of articles about the shoddy conditions maintained at

. These revelations led to the firing of then-commander of Walter Reed, Maj. Gen.

George W. Weightman Major General George William Weightman (born June 15, 1951) was a U.S. Army Family Medicine physician who was commander of the North Atlantic Regional Medical Command and Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC). He was relieved of his WRAMC co ...

, as well as Weightman's successor, Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley. Kiley, who preceded Farmer as commander of Walter Reed, served as acting commander for a single day after Weightman was relieved of duty. The problems at Walter Reed would have occurred during the tenures of Kiley, Farmer and Weightman.Walter Reed woes bring turmoil at the top
" March 5, 2007,

Army Times ''Army Times'' (ISSN 0004–2595) is a newspaper published 26 times a year serving active, reserve, national guard and retired United States Army personnel and their families, providing news, information and analysis as well as community and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Kenneth L. Jr. United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Living people United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Place of birth missing (living people) 1950 births People from Leeds, Alabama Auburn University alumni University of Alabama School of Medicine alumni Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal

Biography

Awards

Walter Reed Army Medical Center Controversy

See also

References