# Surgeon General of the United States Army

The Surgeon General of the United States Army is the senior-most officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD). By policy, the Surgeon General (TSG) serves as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) as well as head of the AMEDD. The surgeon general's office and staff are known as the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG) and are located in Falls Church, Virginia.
Since 1959, TSG has been appointed in the grade of lieutenant general. By law, TSG may be appointed from any of the six officer branches of the AMEDD. However, prior to the 43rd Surgeon General, Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho — an Army Nurse Corps officer — all appointed and confirmed surgeons general have been Medical Corps officers — military physicians. The incumbent Surgeon General is Lieutenant General Mary K. Izaguirre.

## Duties

As a commanding general, TSG provides advice and assistance to the Chief of Staff, Army (CSA) and to the Secretary of the Army (SECARMY) on all health care matters pertaining to the U.S. Army and its military health care system. The incumbent is responsible for development, policy direction, organization and overall management of an integrated Army-wide health service system and is the medical materiel developer for the Army. These duties include formulating policy regulations on health service support, health hazard assessment and the establishment of health standards. TSG is assisted by the Deputy Surgeon General.

## History

Congress established the Medical Service of the Continental Army on July 27, 1775, and placed a "Chief physician & director general" of the Continental Army as its head. The first five surgeons general of the U.S. Army served under this title. An Act of Congress of May 28, 1789, established a "Physician general" of the U.S. Army. Only two physicians, doctors Richard Allison and James Craik, served under this nomenclature. A Congressional Act of March 3, 1813, cited the "Physician & surgeon general" of the U.S. Army. That nomenclature remained in place until the Medical Department was established by the Reorganization Act of April 14, 1818. Additionally, physicians assigned to the U.S. Army were not accorded military rank until 1847.

## Surgeons General of the U.S. Army and their precursors

Incumbents from July 27, 1775 – including periods of vacancy :
| No. | Name | Dates of Tenure | Military Rank |
| 1 | Benjamin Church, Jr. | July 27, 1775 – October 16, 1775 | None |
| 2 | John Morgan | October 16, 1775 – January 1777 | None |
| 3 | William Shippen, Jr. | April 11, 1777 – January 17, 1781 | None |
| 4 | John Cochran | January 17, 1781 – 1783 | None |
| | | 1783–1792 | |
| 5 | Richard Allison | 1792–1796 | None |
| | | 1796 – August 1, 1798 | |
| 6 | James Craik | August 1, 1798 – June 15, 1800 | None |
| | | June 15, 1800 – June 11, 1813 | |
| 7 | James Tilton | June 11, 1813 – June 15, 1815 | None |
| | | June 15, 1815–April 18, 1818 | |
| 8 | Joseph Lovell | April 18, 1818 – October 17, 1836 | None |
| 9 | Thomas Lawson | October 17, 1836 – May 15, 1861 | Brevet Brigadier General |
| 10 | Clement Finley | May 15, 1861 – April 28, 1862 | Brigadier General |
| 11 | William A. Hammond | April 28, 1862 – August 18, 1864 | Brigadier General |
| 12 | Joseph Barnes | August 18, 1864 – June 30, 1882 | Brigadier General |
| | | June 30, 1882 – July 3, 1882 | |
| 13 | Charles H. Crane | July 3, 1882 – October 10, 1883 | Brigadier General |
| 14 | Robert Murray | October 10, 1883 – August 6, 1886 | Brigadier General |
| | | August 6, 1886 – November 18, 1886 | |
| 15 | John Moore | November 18, 1886 – 16 August 1890 | Brigadier General |
| 16 | Jedediah Hyde Baxter | August 16, 1890 – December 4, 1890 | Brigadier General |
| | | December 4, 1890 – December 23, 1890 | |
| 17 | Charles Sutherland | December 23, 1890 – May 30, 1893 | Brigadier General |
| 18 | George Miller Sternberg | May 30, 1893 – June 8, 1902 | Brigadier General |
| 19 | William H. Forwood | June 8, 1902 – September 7, 1902 | Brigadier General |
| 20 | Robert Maitland O'Reilly | September 7, 1902 – January 14, 1909 | Brigadier General |
| 21 | George H. Torney | January 14, 1909 – December 27, 1913 | Brigadier General |
| 22 | William C. Gorgas | January 1914 – 1918 | Major General |
| 23 | Merritte W. Ireland | October 4, 1918 – May 31, 1931 | Major General |
| 24 | Robert U. Patterson | 1931–1935 | Major General |
| 25 | Charles R. Reynolds | 1935–1939 | Major General |
| 26 | James C. Magee | June 1, 1939 – May 31, 1943 | Major General |
| 27 | Norman T. Kirk | 1943–1947 | Major General |
| 28 | Raymond W. Bliss | 1947–1951 | Major General |
| 29 | George E. Armstrong | 1951–1955 | Major General |
| 30 | Silas B. Hays | 1955 – June 1959 | Major General |
| 31 | Leonard D. Heaton | June 1959 – 1969 | Lieutenant General |
| 32 | Hal B. Jennings | October 10, 1969 – October 1, 1973 | Lieutenant General |
| 33 | Richard R. Taylor | October 1, 1973 – October 1, 1977 | Lieutenant General |
| 34 | Charles C. Pixley | October 1, 1977 – September 20, 1981 | Lieutenant General |
| 35 | Bernhard T. Mittemeyer | October 1, 1981 – February 1, 1985 | Lieutenant General |
| 36 | Quinn H. Becker | February 1, 1985 – May 31, 1988 | Lieutenant General |
| 37 | Frank F. Ledford Jr. | June 1, 1988 – June 30, 1992 | Lieutenant General |
| 38 | Alcide M. Lanoue | September 8, 1992 – September 30, 1996 | Lieutenant General |
| 39 | Ronald R. Blanck | October 1, 1996 – September 22, 2000 | Lieutenant General |
| 40 | James Peake | September 22, 2000 – July 8, 2004 | Lieutenant General |
| | | July 8, 2004 – September 30, 2004 | |
| 41 | Kevin C. Kiley | September 30, 2004 – March 12, 2007 | Lieutenant General (retired as Major General) |
| | | March 12, 2007 – December 11, 2007 | |
| 42 | Eric Schoomaker | December 11, 2007 – December 5, 2011 | Lieutenant General |
| 43 | Patricia Horoho | December 5, 2011 – December 3, 2015 | Lieutenant General |
| | | December 3, 2015 – December 11, 2015 | |
| 44 | Nadja West | December 11, 2015 – July 19, 2019 | Lieutenant General |
| | | July 19, 2019 – October 17, 2019 | |
| 45 | R. Scott Dingle | October 17, 2019 – January 25, 2024 | Lieutenant General |
| 46 | Mary K. Izaguirre | January 25, 2024 – present | Lieutenant General |
* Note: The AMEDD Museum at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas, has a display on the Army Surgeons General, including images of each one, except for Richard Allison.

## Agencies, centers, offices, and programs within the OTSG

* Military Vaccine Agency (MILVAX)
* Borden Institute
* U.S. Army Medical Information Technology Center (USAMITC)
* Army Human Research Protections Office (AHRPO)
* Pharmacovigilance Center