JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
More than 35 Minnesota educators were hosted by Maj. Gen. Michael Talley, U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence commanding general, as part of a larger tour to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, led by the Minneapolis U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion June 29.
During the visit, the guests received a MEDCoE overview brief and got the opportunity to participate in a question-and-answer session with Talley, MEDCoE deputy to the commanding general J.M. Harmon III, and recruiters. They also toured the Dental Lab, Preventative Health, and the Department of Veterinary Science/Food Inspector Course and had lunch with Soldiers in the Rocco Dining Facility.
“It is important that the formal structure of gaining quality future Soldiers has to go beyond the recruiting battalion,” Talley said. “I need you in our communities to partner with our recruiting battalions.”
Talley told the group that it takes a community to recruit the future of our Army and thanked the educators for taking the time to learn about MEDCoE so they may have informed discussions with their students about the endless possibilities available to in the Army and Army Medicine.
The group also discussed initiatives that can be incorporated by educators and recruiters to ensure that more students, even from smaller schools and more rural areas, get the opportunity to learn about the Army as a career path.
“I am here to let you know that this is going to be a team effort going forward,” Talley assured the audience that included half a dozen recruiters. “We have to; our nation depends on us to fill our ranks with quality Soldiers to the levels we need them to be. It is a matter of National security.”
MEDCoE trains, educates and inspires nearly 35,000 soldiers in over 360 training and education programs annually that include everyone from combat medics, doctors, surgeons, nurses, veterinarians, dentists, physical therapists and physician assistants to medical evacuation pilots, food inspectors, medical technicians, and hospital administrators.
As the largest civilian-accredited service school within the Department of Defense, MEDCoE provides advanced degree programs, yielding a total of 14 degrees; six masters and nine doctoral. There are more than 60 science and medical-focused Army career paths.