Maj. Wendy Evans, Maj. Harriet Folsom, and Dr. Malena Rone were selected to attend AMEDD’s Iron Majors Week—one of the Army Medical Department’s most competitive leadership programs and a professional distinction reserved for mid‑career medical leaders with demonstrated excellence in expertise, command, and leadership potential. Representing the Defense Health Agency Research & Development – Medical Research and Development Command, they joined a select cohort of 50 Army medicine majors and civilian equivalents from across the enterprise.
Iron Majors Week prepares Army Medicine’s next generation of senior leaders to operate at the intersection of strategy, policy, and battlefield readiness. For participants, the program reinforces how medical research, development, and innovation are transformed into operational capabilities—ensuring that discoveries made in laboratories ultimately translate into lives saved on the battlefield.
Throughout the week, attendees engaged closely with senior Army and interagency leaders, executives and subject matter experts from across the military enterprise. These engagements reinforced “big picture” perspectives on military health and readiness aligned with the Pentagon’s strategy for military health, as described by Stephen Ferrara, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for Health Affairs.
“Military medicine potentiates the ultimate weapons system: the American Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, and Guardian,” Ferrara said. “Medically ready forces keep guns in the fight, and ready medical forces honor the pact that America makes to its sons and daughters to provide world-class medical care anytime, anywhere, under any conditions.”
The department’s roadmap for modernizing military health includes prioritizing medical research and development; expanding biodefense surveillance and response capabilities; investing in the workforce; and integrating these priorities into unit-level medical care, forward trauma management, theater hospitalization and definitive care.
The connections, experience and knowledge gained through the program will serve these future leaders as they rise through the ranks and are called upon to work across the medical enterprise to take on complex issues and operational challenges.
Maj. Harriet Folsom
Folsom has served since August 2025 as deputy chief of the Division of Medicine at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases where she helps oversee medical training and education supporting the nation’s biodefense mission.
At USAMRIID, Folsom and her colleagues deliver critical training to U.S. military forces, civilians, and international partners on the medical management and response to high‑consequence biological threats, including Ebola, M-pox, MERS, and other emerging and persistent pathogens. The division’s work supports force protection, strengthens partner interoperability, and enhances global health security.
“I was eager to participate in Iron Majors Week to gain a deeper understanding of the strategic landscape directly from senior AMEDD leaders,” Folsom said. “Hearing that vision firsthand helps ensure our training and education programs remain aligned with evolving operational needs and continue to directly support the mission to protect the force and the nation.”
Maj. (Dr.) Wendy Evans
Evans is a Laboratory Animal Medicine Resident at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense. Her work supports the ethical and effective use of animal models critical to advancing military medical research and force health protection
Before transitioning to laboratory animal medicine, Evans served as the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) veterinarian in the Indo-Pacific theater. During that time, she supported high-visibility joint exercises in austere environments and developed evacuation plans for multi-purpose canines employed in special operations missions.
“I gained a deeper understanding of strategic‑level leadership, medical planning, and decision‑making that directly informs how and why research is prioritized and resourced,” Evans said. “That insight into operational and organizational AMEDD leadership better equips me to align laboratory capabilities with readiness requirements and to support command by translating strategic intent into practical, mission‑focused support.”
Dr. Malena Rone
Rone supports the Office of the Deputy to the Commanding General, Science and Technology Portfolio Management Office.
Her work ensures alignment between basic research ensures alignment between basic research and applied research with acquisition pathways and regulatory requirements to ensure innovations can transition into operational use. Rone’s career includes leading product development for traumatic brain injury solutions in support of Warfighter readiness.
During Iron Majors Week, Rone, as a civilian, gained insights into the military decision-making process, joint and interagency integration, operational planning.
“I learned how senior leaders define problems and synchronize warfighting functions,” Rone said. “That operational context, will help me align research priorities with Army modernization efforts.”
The selection of Evans, Folsom, and Rone for Iron Majors Week highlights both their individual leadership potential and the command’s critical role in Army medicine’s future. As the Army confronts increasingly complex operational and medical challenges, leaders developed through experiences like Iron Majors Week are critical to bridging research, policy, and readiness—ensuring that innovation becomes capability and that medical excellence continues to strengthen the joint force.