Surgeon General of the United States Army

This article is about the senior physician in the U.S. Army. For the head of the U.S. Public Health Service, see Surgeon General of the United States. For other uses, see Surgeon General (disambiguation).

The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most medical corps officer in the U.S. Army. In recent times, this has been a Lieutenant General who serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) and head of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD). His (or her) office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) and are located in Falls Church, Virginia.

Additional recommended knowledge

How to quickly check pipettes?

Guide to balance cleaning: 8 simple steps

Correct Test Weight Handling Guide: 12 Practical Tips

History

Congress established the Medical Service of the Continental Army on July 27, 1775 and emplaced a "Chief physician & director general" of the Continental Army as its head at that time. The first five “surgeons general” of the U.S. Army served under this title. An Act of May 28, 1789 established a "Physician general" of the U.S. Army (only Doctors Richard Allison and James Craik served according to this nomenclature). An Act of March 13, 1813 cited the "Physician & surgeon general" of the U.S. Army. This nomenclature remained in place until the U.S. Army Medical Corps (or Medical Department) was established by the Reorganization Act of April 14, 1818. (Physicians assigned to the U.S. Army were not accorded military rank until 1847.)

List of Surgeons General of the United States Army

• Note: The AMEDD Museum at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas has a display on the Army Surgeons General including images of all of them except Dr. Richard Allison.

References and notes

1. ^ Army News Release. MG Pollock, a U.S. Army Nurse Corps officer, served as Acting Surgeon General for nine months after LTG Kiley resigned in the wake of the 2007 Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal.

See also

• Library of the Surgeon General's Office, now the National Library of Medicine
• Surgeon General of the United States Navy
• Surgeon General of the United States Air Force