Colonel Scott Hovis relinquished command of the Marietta, Ga.-based Georgia Army National Guard Medical Command to Lt. Col. Darrell Scales during a ceremony at the Clay National Guard Center Feb. 9, 2019. During the ceremony, Brigadier General Thomas Blackstock, commander of the Ga. ARNG’s 78th Troop Command transferred the Med Com guidon from Hovis to Scales symbolizing the change of command.
Colonel Hovis applauded the work of the Soldiers of Med Com in his address to the assembled Soldiers.
“It has been quite the four years, culminating in 1,800 patients seen and (medical examinations) provided during the February drill,” said Hovis. “That is something that has never been done in the Georgia Guard or perhaps any other Guard state. “It is a testament to the hard work of and dedication and work ethic of the members of this command.”
Hovis has commanded the Georgia Medical Command since March 9, 2015. He previously served as flight surgeon with the 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment and as a field surgeon with Ga. Med Com. His military career began in the United States Marine Corps. He transitioned to the North Carolina National Guard and commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 1999. He served as a medical services officer while attending medical school at East Carolina University. Following his residency, Hovis completed two deployments to Kuwait and Afghanistan as a flight surgeon and is board certified in general surgery and vascular surgery.
Lt. Col. Scales has served in the Ga. Med Com since September 2017. A veteran of Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Scales is a 1984 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. After graduating from George Washington University School of Medicine in 1988, Scales was assigned as regimental surgeon to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Germany. Residency and assignment to South Korea followed. Scales left the military in 2002 and in 2017, after a 15-year break in service, he felt compelled to serve again and joined the Georgia Army National Guard where he has served as a field surgeon.
“I am both humbled and honored to command the Ga. ARNG Med Com,” said Scales. “I left the military in 2002 to go into private practice. Ever since I left, I have missed the Army, so it is duty and honor that bring me back. As commander, I will serve you all.”