WBAMC celebrates MSC anniversary

Photo By Marcy Sanchez | Capt. Raina Covington, pharmacist, William Beaumont Army Medical Center, and Lt. Col. Stacey Causey, pharmacist, WBAMC, cut a cake in celebration of the 99th anniversary of the Medical Services Corps at WBAMC, June 30. In 1917, the establishment of the U.S. Army Sanitary Corps relieved physicians from a variety of administrative, technical and scientific duties. In 1947, the Sanitary Corps, along with the Administrative Corps and Pharmacy Corps, became the MSC.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

07.05.2016

Story by Marcy Sanchez  

William Beaumont Army Medical Center

Soldiers, staff and retirees celebrated Army Medicine’s Medical Service Corps’ 99th Anniversary, at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, June 30.

The MSC is responsible for managing various aspects of combat health support and providing science officers who directly impact the health of beneficiaries. Most Army Medicine lieutenants are initially branched as Health Services Officers to serve as a Medical Platoon Leaders which may lead to positions such as company executive officers or commanders.

“We knew we were special and we had a special mission,” said retired Maj. Franklin (Tom) Barker, national treasurer for the Silver Caduceus Association. “It was a combination of pride and a humbling experience you can’t verbalize.”

Barker, a former healthcare comptroller, retired from WBAMC in 1980. In 1978 Barker wrote the funding document for WBAMC’s Bradley Building, which was completed in 1982 and provided 200,000 square feet of additional administrative and clinical space.

The medical service corps provides subject matter experts in administrative services, chemistry, pharmacy, social work and even nuclear medical science.

“The MSC means the same thing to the Soldiers today as it did 40 years ago,” said Barker: “Support the medical mission.”

Although the professions embedded within the MSC have been in practice since before the Revolutionary War and the Continental Army, they have evolved over time and remain an indispensable component of the overall system for health of Soldiers and beneficiaries.

In 1917, the establishment of the U.S. Army Sanitary Corps relieved physicians from a variety of administrative, technical and scientific duties. In 1947, the Sanitary Corps, along with the Administrative Corps and Pharmacy Corps, became the MSC.

MSC officers have contributed to the evolution of healthcare. Notable MSC Soldiers include Maj. Reuben L. Kahn, who developed a procedure to test for syphilis; Col. George Hunter III, who developed a poison to eliminate snails causing schistosomiasis in Japan; Col. Robert Lindberg, who developed sulfamylon cream to reduce burn mortality; and, Capt. Millie Hughes-Fulford, who became the first astronaut of any medical department of the U.S. Armed Forces.

• Date Taken: 07.05.2016
• Date Posted: 07.05.2016 12:16
• Story ID: 203117
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US