Photo By Robert Hammer | The annual Henry Jackson Foundation’s Heroes of Military Medicine awards ceremony,...... read more read more
Champions in military medicine were honored during the annual Henry Jackson Foundation’s Heroes of Military Medicine awards ceremony held on May 8, 2025, at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.
The awards recognized outstanding contributions by senior leaders, medical professionals, and civilians who distinguished themselves through excellence and dedication to advancing military medicine and enhancing the lives and health of our nation’s wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans, their families, and civilians, according to the foundation.
“The Military Health System is no doubt recognized as a world-class medical force, “ said Dr. Stephen Ferrara, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, in his opening remarks. “Medical readiness is combat readiness. This is not just a slogan—it is a reality. A force that is not medically ready is a force that is not mission ready. Taking care of our warfighters will always be our number one priority.”
Medical professionals from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Public Health Service received awards, as well as an ambassador and a civilian provider.
“There are many heroes in the Military Health System that take care of patients daily all over the world, support the readiness of the force, spend hours in research in many aspects of our systems too numerous to mention, and we have the opportunity to recognize the best of the best,” said Ferrara.
U.S. Army Honoree: U.S. Army Col. (Dr.) Benjamin Donham
Donham is currently the commander of the U.S. Army Medical Department Activity-Alaska. Before his current assignment, he served at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Cavazos, Texas; and at Fort Bragg, N.C., as commander of the 261st Multifunctional Medical Battalion and command surgeon for XVIII Airborne Corps.
Donham recognized his family for their dedication and sacrifice for his military career. “I get to do what I love because of their sacrifice, their patience, and their unwavering support. I share this recognition,” said Donham. “To the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines I've served with, your shared sense of mission and purpose continues to make the journey work.”
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mary Izaguirre, U.S. Army surgeon general, said Col. Donham has served as a battlefield surgeon, a combat veteran, a special forces operator, scholar, commander, and pioneer in military medical innovation. “His contributions go so far beyond his operational excellence,” she said.
U.S. Navy Honoree: U.S. Navy Capt. (Dr.) Matthew Tadlock
As a trauma and general surgeon with 23 years of active duty experience, Tadlock currently serves as the officer in charge, Surface Medical Group-Pacific, where he prepares fleet surgical teams for deployment on U.S. Navy amphibious assault ships.
Since 2021, he’s led the Maritime Surgery Quality Improvement program, an initiative focused on tracking, improving, and standardizing all surgical care performed on U.S. combatant vessels. He is also an attending surgeon at Naval Medical Center San Diego and an associate professor of surgery through the Uniformed Services University.
U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Walter Brafford, commander, Naval Medical Forces Development Command, commended Tadlock, saying, “Under immense threat and pressure, often far from traditional medical facilities, Capt. Tadlock has relied not just on his own exceptional skills as a trauma and critical care specialist, but through his visionary leadership in shaping the very landscape of how we prepare and sustain our operational medical teams.”
“He doesn’t just maintain the status quo; he forges a new path.”
Tadlock thanked his family and fellow military medical professionals, saying, “Many of the accomplishments that led to this recognition, myself, or others, started at the grassroots level. To be recognized for being a part of these grassroots efforts and to see some of them become how we do business is incredibly rewarding.”
U.S. Air Force Honoree: U.S. Air Force Col. (Dr.) Daniel Brown
“Every single success in military medicine is a shared achievement,” Brown said. “Especially true in the care and transport of those injured, a mission that has helped shape my career.”
Brown is an emergency services master clinician at Wright-Patterson Medical Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where he serves as the senior advisor to a 90-person emergency services flight and directs clinical operations for 13,000 emergency patients per year.
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jason Lennen, director of policy and resources at the Office of the Surgeon General, U.S. Air Force, told the audience, “Col. Brown's profound impact will be forever felt by the patients and staff he has directly touched, as well as the county centers that were built with the firm foundation that he has led to treat, heal and save, to enable our Air Force to fly, fight and win, and our joint force to deter, defend and defeat.”
U.S. Public Health Service Honoree: USPHS Capt. (Dr.) John Iskander
Iskander, currently assigned to the Food and Drug Administration, most recently served as chief of the immunization healthcare division for the Defense Health Agency and previously was chief of preventive medicine and population health for the U.S. Coast Guard.
U.S. Public Health Service Rear Adm. Denise Hinton, deputy U.S. Surgeon General, said Iskander, “is a distinguished leader whose contributions have profoundly advanced military and veteran medicine.”
“His career has been defined by excellence in clinical care, his groundbreaking medical research, and an unwavering dedication to those who serve as a physician leader within the United States Public Health Service Commission Corps.”
Iskander thanked those in attendance for the recognition for his service to the USPHS and emphasized the importance of the work of the agency, saying, “It is my privilege to accept this award with thanks to all my fellow United States Public Health Service officers who have and continue to serve our warfighters and veterans.”
Civilian Provider Honoree: Dr. Troy Akers
Akers is the civilian chief of emergency medicine at Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center, a position he transitioned into following his military retirement in 2018.
Dr. David Smith, acting director, Defense Health Agency, introduced Akers and talked about his heroic efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in 2024 that ravaged many communities in Georgia, including the area that relies on the Eisenhower Army Medical Center for medical care.
In the immediate hours of the destruction resulting from the storm, Smith said Akers went to the center and quickly began to respond to the needs of the community, patients, and his staff.
“This is what leadership is in crisis,” said Smith. “These are the actions of an individual who captures all the qualities we seek in our line of work: calmness, confidence, and compassion for those they serve.”
Akers said his job is “to make sure that the men and women that wear that uniform—the most precious resources this country has—have everything they need to make sure that they can fight America's wars, taking care of their family members when they're deployed, making sure they're medically ready, has been the honor of my life, and I thank every single day I get to do this job.”
Ambassador Honoree: Sal Gonzalez
Gonzalez enlisted in the Marines in 2004 and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion. While serving in Iraq, his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, and a below-the-knee amputation.
While recovering from his injuries, he was introduced to many programs that offer rehabilitation and recovery of injured service members, including music. Since, he has performed at the Grand Ole’ Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, and is about to release his first full-length album.
He “turned his healing journey into a mission, proving that music can give bridge to recovery, resilience, and renew purpose,” said Joseph Caravalho, president and CEO of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.
Gonzalez told the audience, “The only reason I am alive today is because of people like those who are being honored tonight. Because if I had been injured as grievously as I was injured in Iraq, just a couple of decades before—I do not think I would have survived.”
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2025 09:51 |
| Story ID: | 497926 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
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