JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, TX –
The Army’s 44th Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Nadja West,
assumed command of the U.S. Army Medical Command at ceremony at Fort Sam
Houston Feb. 10.
This past December, the U.S. Senate confirmed West to serve
as the new Army Surgeon General, a position in which she is dual hatted as
MEDCOM commanding general.
“Like so many of our leaders in the Army today, Nadja West
comes from a great lineage of service to our nation,” said Army Vice Chief of
Staff Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, who officiated the ceremony at the MacArthur Parade
Field. “In fact, the West family is a veritable joint force, with 10 of their
12 children choosing to serve their country in uniform.”
MEDCOM is one of 11 direct reporting units in the Army. It
manages a budget of more than $12.8 billion budget and provides medical care
for approximately 3.95 million eligible beneficiary’s worldwide – active duty
service members, retirees and their family members. The command also oversees
graduate medical education, health professional education, medical research and
training of all combat medics.
“As I look across the field, I am inspired by the
magnificent soldiers in the formation and what they represent,” West said.
“These soldiers represent those who are training and will go forward.”
West previously served as the Joint Staff Surgeon to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She holds a bachelor of science in engineering from the
United States Military Academy at West Point and a doctorate of medicine from
George Washington University School of Medicine.
Her previous assignments were as commanding general of
Europe Regional Medical Command;
Womack Army Medical Center commander, Fort Bragg, N.C.; and division surgeon
for 1st Armored Division, Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. Raised in the
Washington, D.C. area, West is the first African-American to serve as the Army
Surgeon General, a three-star billet. West pinned on her third star in a
ceremony that took place Feb. 9.
This promotion makes West the Army’s first black female to
hold the rank of lieutenant general and the highest ranking female of any race
to graduate from West Point.