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JBSA News
NEWS | July 12, 2022

BAMC makes history welcoming new commanding general

By Robert Whetstone Brooke Army Medical Center Public Affairs

The first active duty Medical Specialist Corps general officer in the Army, Brig. Gen Deydre Teyhen, took command of Brooke Army Medical Center after an assumption of command ceremony in the Carolyn D. Putnam Auditorium at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston July 11. Teyhen was promoted to brigadier general July 8, 2022.

“I could not be more excited, I could not be more proud to take command of this stellar, world-renowned organization” Teyhen said. She reflected on the call she received to inform her which organization she would be commanding. “I almost fell out of my chair to be returning to San Antonio, to Military City U.S.A. They don’t give you a chance to do an OML (order of merit list), but if I would have done an OML, this (BAMC) would have been my first choice.”

In addition to commanding BAMC, Teyhen will serve as the deputy market director for the San Antonio Market, and the 20th Chief of the U.S. Army Medical Specialist Corps.

“It’s an honor to officially welcome Brig. Gen. Deydre Teyhen to the Regional Health Command-Central team and to the flagship of military medicine, here at Brooke Army Medical Center,” said Brig. Gen. E. Darren Cox, RHC-C commanding general, and deputy director, Small Market and Stand-Alone Military Treatment Facilities Organization. Cox was the reviewing officer for the assumption of command ceremony.

Prior to taking command of BAMC, Teyhen, a physical therapist by trade, served as the deputy chief of staff (Support, G-1/4/6) at the Office of the Surgeon General, Falls Church, Virginia. During the pandemic, she served as the Department of Defense Lead of Therapeutics for Operation Warp Speed at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as the commander for Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, the Department of Defense’s largest biomedical research facility.

In his remarks, Cox lauded Teyhen for having spent her career positively affecting readiness one patient, one student, one research paper, and one policy at a time.
 
“The leadership Brig. Gen. Teyhen will provide is vital to the ongoing successful modernization of the Army, Army Medicine and the Military Health System,” he added.

Teyhen made special notice of how extremely busy BAMC has been in the last two years.
 
“I am in awe of the professionalism, agility and expertise demonstrated during extraordinary challenges,” she stated.
 
BAMC continues to partner with the San Antonio medical community during the ongoing COVID pandemic, retained its Level I Trauma designation after a rigorous Joint Commission inspection, and implemented the new electronic health record system, MHS GENESIS.
 
“I couldn’t be more impressed," the general said. "Truly, you deliver excellence on a daily basis.”

When Teyhen had the opportunity to address the guests during the assumption of command ceremony, she emphasized the importance of the people in the organization.
 
“I believe in putting people first,” she explained. “I am committed to having BAMC remain a great environment for both personal and professional growth for everyone within the organization. I want BAMC to continue to be the premier military treatment facility within the DoD, and I want you to be proud every day to say, ‘I am Team BAMC!’”

Maintaining readiness was also an important theme of Teyhen’s remarks to the audience.
 
“As military medical professionals, we exist so we can maintain a healthy, medically ready force to fight and win our nation’s wars,” Teyhen said. “This requires a ready medical force to support them. It is our responsibility to be lifelong learners and expand our ability to be ready to deploy wherever our nation calls.”

Because of the overall medical training mission at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, Teyhen is no stranger to the community, its importance and impact.
 
"I’m incredibly excited to be back in Military City USA, working alongside our community partners in San Antonio and the region,” she said.

“Partners such as the Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council, University Health System, UT Health, the VA and too many others to name,” Teyhen noted. “Together, we pioneer research and develop innovative practices to improve the lives of service members, retirees and their family members, both here in San Antonio and around the world.”