U.S. Army Surgeon General, MEDCOM Executive Deputy speak at AUSA’s Army Civilians forum

Photo By Courtney Dock | The U.S. Army Surgeon General and Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command, Lt. Gen. Nadja West and Gregg Stevens, MEDCOM executive deputy, speak at the Army Civilian Forum during the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting Oct. 10, 2018. Many of the questions asked of the MEDCOM leadership focused on the future of the civilian corps within MEDCOM, especially during a time of transition to the Defense Health Agency. (U.S. Army photo by Courtney Dock)  

DC, UNITED STATES

10.10.2018

Story by Courtney Dock 

U.S. Army Medical Command

The U.S. Army Surgeon General and Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command, Lt. Gen. Nadja West spoke at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting Oct. 8, 2018 about the future of Army Civilians within MEDCOM and the important role they play in the readiness of the total Army Force.

The Army Medical Command civilian corps is the Army’s largest civilian career program with nearly 36,000 civilian careerists. West spoke about the important roles these civilian employees provide the Army to enable the force to be ready today and to be a more lethal force tomorrow.

“They’re awesome people who make up Army Medicine,” said West. “When I say we couldn’t do our job and we couldn’t be where we are today, sometimes that sounds like a trite statement, but it’s a true statement for me. I would not be the physician I am today without our remarkable Army civilians.”

The surgeon general was joined on the panel by Gregg Stevens, MEDCOM executive deputy, as well as senior leaders from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Installation Management Command.

Many of the questions asked of the MEDCOM leadership focused on the future of the civilian corps within MEDCOM, especially during a time of transition to the Defense Health Agency.

“Army Medicine has been around since 1775. We’ve come a long way from using leeches and bleeding basins. We’re always in evolution and change,” said West. “Evolving can lead to a lot of uncertainty. And that can lead to unknowns for our workforce.

“I can’t guarantee where all of our personnel will land,” West continued. “I know that we have a need at every level to retain the expertise. But I won’t [say] all is rosy and everything is going to be great. I can’t predict the total number of our personnel that are going to be required.”

“The driving force for the [personnel] numbers is the Joint Manning Document that’s being developed by the Defense Health Agency,” said Stevens. “That is the driving force of the end state.”

Stevens said the joint manning document has not been completed but is expected in the coming months. West added that Army Medicine leadership have been involved in the process and development of the document.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty and I understand that, I hear that, and we will be transparent,” said West. “It’s communication transparency with what’s going to happen with our civilians, but I can assure you we are fighting tooth and nail. We need our medical civilians to continue to do our job. As much as we can to protect them to continue to do our mission, we will do that.”

The Army Civilian Forum was one of multiple forums discussing the way forward for the U.S. Army at this year’s AUSA annual meeting. The Association of the United States Army’s 2018 Annual Meeting is the largest land power exposition and professional development forum in North America.

Army Medicine’s mission is to provide sustained health services and research in support of the Total Force to enable readiness and conserve the fighting strength while caring for our Soldiers for Life and Families. This mission is accomplished by Army Medical Department (AMEDD) personnel assigned across the Army around the world, 24-hours a day, 365-days a year.

• Date Taken: 10.10.2018
• Date Posted: 10.10.2018 16:20
• Story ID: 295948
• Location: DC, US