JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
The 59th Medical Operations Group welcomed a new commander during a change of command ceremony July 25, 2023 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas.
Brig. Gen. Jeannine Ryder, who serves as the 59th Medical Wing commander, San Antonio Military Health System market director, and Air Force Nurse Corps chief, presided over the ceremony in which Col. Alisha Smith relinquished command to Col. Anthony Mitchell.
“In the last two years, the (59th MDOG) has established initiatives and worked our processes to serve our patients better and deliver a ready force and ready medics,” Ryder said.
The 59th MDOG operates the Department of Defense’s largest ambulatory surgical center and 43 specialty clinics. The group also oversees approximately 60 Graduate Medical Education and Phase Two enlisted technician programs.
Under Smith’s command, the 59th MDOG enhanced collaboration with Brooke Army Medical Center, ensured operations during the COVID-19 Omicron wave, deployed the Military Health System’s electronic health record MHS GENESIS, supported the 59th MDW’s refocus on training and readiness, and met the needs of line partnerships to include the Air Force’s basic military training pipeline.
“To the 59th MDOG team … your expertise, commitment, and leadership is felt throughout the Air Force,” Ryder said. “To (Smith), your leadership cultivated an environment of sustained excellence and respect. You led through a pandemic, an (accreditation) inspection, a mass deployment in support of Operation Allies Welcome, and the numerous highs and lows of taking care of people.”
Smith thanked her team for their dedication and reminded them of team accomplishments, such as earning the honor of Air Education and Training Command’s “Clinic of the Year” in 2021 and 2022.
“It is truly an honor to stand before you today and say, ‘thank you,’” Smith said. “You showed up day after day, ready to support the wing no matter what the ‘ask.’ You are an amazing team of professionals, and it has truly been my honor to serve with you all.”
Smith is succeeded in command by Col. Anthony Mitchell, who in his first speech as the 59th MDOG commander spoke of the gravity of the military medical profession.
“This is serious business: service, life, and death. The beneficiaries we take care of have earned their way through someone’s sacrifice, someone’s service,” Mitchell said. “For a medic, 'service before self' means something a little bit different. It means that we are committed to being ready and willing to provide health and healing if we can, but comfort always; to always be ready, anytime, anywhere; to do things other people cannot do and to go places other people will not go; to fulfill the promise to those who wore this uniform and to their families, and to our nation, that no matter where you are, if you are in harm’s way, there will be a medic at your side.”