Defense Health Agency Acting Director Dr. David Smith and Acting Senior Enlisted Leader Sgt. Maj. Manuel Cruz hosted a conversation with DHA headquarters staff from Falls Church, Virginia, Dec. 12.
Smith expressed his gratitude to the workforce for their dedication and resilience in 2025 and relayed positive feedback he received from engagements with combatant command leadership, citing recent visits with leaders at U.S. Northern Command as “one of our biggest advocates” as well as similar comments from U.S. Space Command. He acknowledged the key role of DHA’s liaison officers and staff assigned to serve at combatant command headquarters in “helping us understand what we can do to support” the COCOM missions with DHA’s medical capabilities. “It’s such an honor to be a part of this team. I really appreciate what you all do,” he added.
Smith discussed recent leadership changes and announced Force Master Chief PatrickPaul C. Mangaran as the new DHA Command Senior Enlisted Leader as of Jan. 6, 2026.
A clear focus for every team member
Both Smith and DHA Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Timothy Brennan highlighted the FY26 Mission Focused Directive to reinforce the importance of preparedness for a future conflict and the agency’s sacred obligation to provide lifesaving care on and off the battlefield. “From tracking global blood supply to bed spaces across military hospitals and clinics,” Brennan challenged the team to constantly ask hard questions about our readiness to support combat operations. "Are we ready today to start picking up that mantle and ensure service members forward deployed have everything they need to be successful?” he added.
He stressed that every member of the DHA team contributes to the agency’s lines of effort as outlined in the FY26 Mission Focused Directive.
Innovation to support the mission
Smith highlighted key initiatives designed to modernize the enterprise and empower the workforce, including the October 2025 rollout of universal credentialing and privileging for all active duty, Reserve, and government civilian providers to improve medical readiness and access to care.
He also hailed the limited fielding of the ambient listening tool as a “true game changer for our ability to provide health care … and a real win for the enterprise.” Generating patient notes in minutes, the tool will free up providers from documenting the encounter to focus on the patient’s care during the visit. The limited release took place at Madigan Army Medical Center, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, and Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune in advance of projected enterprise rollout early next year.
Supporting our most valuable asset: our people
Rounding out the briefing, Cruz highlighted the importance of checking in with teammates ahead of the holidays. He discussed the robust employee support resources available through DHA’s civilian Employee Assistance Program and Military OneSource. The National Resource Directory managed by Warrior Care is another useful resource.
Reflecting on DHA’s core values of dependability, humility and agility, Cruz emphasized that “DHA is every single one of you … you are valued and the work you do is valued … it takes all of us together to make the mission happen.”
During the Q&A session, leaders fielded questions on the effects of the federal hiring freeze on senior leader positions, requirements-based budget requests, feedback from combatant commands on DHA’s combat support activities, and more.
“Thanks for making me proud every day. I think you're doing incredible things for our beneficiaries and [in] support of the mission,” Smith shared in his closing remarks.