WBAMC hosts holiday ball

Photo By Marcy Sanchez | Soldiers, staff and guests of William Beaumont Army Medical Center dance during a roaring 20s-themed Holiday Ball at the Centennial Conference and Banquet Center, Dec. 4. The annual celebration provides Soldiers and staff an opportunity to boost camaraderie, take part and uphold the tradition of the military ball.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

12.12.2017

Story by Marcy Sanchez  

William Beaumont Army Medical Center

William Beaumont Army Medical Center held a roaring 20s-themed Holiday Ball at the Centennial Conference and Banquet Center, Dec. 4.

The annual celebration provides Soldiers and staff an opportunity to boost camaraderie, take part and uphold the tradition of military balls, which was organized by WBAMC’s Ball Committee.

As guests shuffled through the receiving line, they were greeted by familiar faces including Col. Erik Rude, commander, WBAMC, and the night’s guest speaker, retired Brig. Gen. Dennis Doyle, who commanded WBAMC from 2011 – 2012.

“Almost 23 years ago, a year out of flight school, I was in the worst
unit I’ve ever been in,” said Rude, an aviator by trade. “In the summer of 95, a man named Maj. Doyle took charge of the unit. Six months later it was the highest morale in a unit I’ve ever seen.”

After completing a tour of duty at WBAMC, Doyle served in various positions in the Army Medical Command while serving as the 17th Chief of the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps.

“Before he was a great leader he was a great person,” said Rude. “He would come to work with a smile on his face and you knew he was sincere.”

According to Rude, it was because of Doyle and leaders like him that inspired him to continue his career in Army Medicine in addition to motivating him to willingly take on added leadership responsibilities.

“Our Army Medical Department is the best in the world because of what (staff) does,” said Doyle. “The readiness of our Soldiers and their families is due solely to your hard work, sweat and tears.

“If you remain focused on readiness and prevention, you will win the day,” said Doyle as he reiterated his philosophy toward patient care. “Soldiers go boldly into the night, risking all with full knowledge or assurance that if injured or wounded, they’ll receive the finest care available. (WBAMC staff is) a critical and sometimes under-recognized link in that world-class health care that produces the highest combat survivability in history.”

For more pictures from the WBAMC Holiday Ball, visit WBAMC’s social media channels.

• Date Taken: 12.12.2017
• Date Posted: 12.12.2017 14:32
• Story ID: 258465
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US