Loree K. Sutton (born July 15, 1959) is an American psychiatrist and retired military officer who served as a brigadier general in the United States Army. Sutton served for over 20 years and was awarded a Bronze Star. From 2007 to 2010, She was the Army's highest-ranking psychiatrist. In 2014, New York City Mayor

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who served as the 109th mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the office of New Yor ...

appointed Sutton as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Veterans' Services. Sutton was a candidate in the

2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary The Democratic Party primary for the 2021 New York City mayoral election took place on June 22, 2021. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams defeated 12 other candidates, including Kathryn Garcia, Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang. Adams went on to defea ...

Early life and education

Sutton was born and raised in

Loma Linda, California Loma Linda (Spanish for "Beautiful Hill") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 24,791 at the 2020 census, up from 23,261 at the 2010 census. The central area of the c ...

. Her mother, Lavaun Sutton, was a former cardiac intensive care nurse. Sutton graduated from Pacific Union College with a Bachelor of Science in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

in 1981. Sutton graduated from medical school at

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educatio ...

in 1985, and completed her internship and residency in psychiatry at

Letterman Army Medical Center The Letterman Army Hospital, established around 1898 and redesignated as the Letterman Army Medical Center (LAMC) in 1969, was a US Army facility at the Presidio of San Francisco in San Francisco, California, US. It was decommissioned in 1994. ...

. She is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, with an M.S. in national security strategic studies, and the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

.","
''The New York Daily News''.

Career

Military service

Sutton served in the United States military for over 20 years. She was deployed to Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Egypt in support of the first Gulf War and other missions. Sutton was commander of the

Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center The Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center is a United States Department of Defense medical facility at Fort Hood, Texas. It provides medical care to servicemembers and their families, along with veterans and their dependents, in and around the largest ...

in Fort Hood, Texas, beginning in 2005, commander of the

DeWitt Army Community Hospital Fort Belvoir Community Hospital is a Department of Defense medical facility located on Fort Belvoir, Virginia, outside of Washington D.C. In conjunction with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Belvoir provides the Military Health System ...

, Deputy Commander for clinical services at the General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital, and a special assistant to the

Surgeon General of the United States Army 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 ...

. Sutton was the founding director of the

Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury The Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) organization that provides guidance across DoD programs related to psychological health (PH) and traumatic ...

in 2007, and was a special assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. She was the United States Army's highest-ranking psychiatrist from 2007 to 2010. During her career, Sutton received many awards, including the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Bronze Star Medal 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 ...

, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and

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 cor ...

. She was one of only 15 female generals out of the 1.3 million soldiers serving in the Army. She retired from the military in 2010.

Politics

In 2014, New York City Mayor

appointed Sutton as Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Veterans’ Affairs, and from 2017 to 2019, was the Commissioner of the newly formed New York City Department of Veterans’ Services. She resigned in October 2019 to launch her campaign for Mayor of New York City. She struggled to raise money and never polled higher than 2%, resulting in her dropping out on March 10, 2021.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Loree Living people Pacific Union College alumni Female generals of the United States Army American psychiatrists American Seventh-day Adventists Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Recipients of the Legion of Merit 1959 births Brigadier generals Loma Linda University alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni New York (state) Democrats People from Loma Linda, California LGBT people from New York (state) United States Army personnel of the Gulf War United States Army Medical Corps officers Candidates in the 2021 United States elections