# Surgeon General of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force

The surgeon general of the Air Force and Space Force is the senior-most Medical Service officer in the United States Department of the Air Force and is the principal medical advisor for both the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. The surgeon general of the Air Force and Space Force is a lieutenant general who serves as head of the United States Air Force Medical Service (AFMS). The Surgeon General is usually the senior Medical Corps officer, but acting surgeons general have been from other branches of the medical service. Prior to 2020, the position was known as just the surgeon general of the Air Force, but was renamed with the establishment of the Space Force.

## History

In September 1947 the combat elements of the Army Air Forces separated from the U.S. Army, forming the United States Air Force. But a few Air Force support functions, such as medical care, remained U.S. Army responsibilities for the next two years. Starting in 1948, the Air Force and the Air Surgeon, Maj. Gen. Malcolm C. Grow (1887-1960), began to convince the U.S. Army and the administration of President Harry S. Truman that the Air Force needed its own medical service. In the summer of 1949, Air Force General Order No. 35 established a medical service with the following officer personnel components: Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps, Medical Service Corps, Air Force Nurse Corps, and Women's Medical Specialist Corps.

## List of Surgeons Generals

| No. | Surgeon General of the Air Force | Surgeon General of the Air Force | Term | Term | Term |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length |
| 1 | | Major General Malcolm C. Grow | July 1, 1949 | November 30, 1949 | 152 days |
| 2 | | Major General Harry G. Armstrong | December 1, 1949 | June 30, 1954 | 4 years, 211 days |
| 3 | | Major General Dan C. Ogle | July 1, 1954 | November 30, 1958 | 4 years, 152 days |
| 4 | | Major General Oliver K. Niess | December 1, 1958 | December 1, 1963 | 5 years |
| 5 | | Lieutenant General Richard L. Bohannon | December 2, 1963 | November 30, 1967 | 3 years, 363 days |
| 6 | | Lieutenant General Kenneth E. Pletcher | December 1, 1967 | April 30, 1970 | 2 years, 150 days |
| 7 | | Lieutenant General Alonzo A. Towner | May 1, 1970 | July 31, 1972 | 2 years, 91 days |
| 8 | | Lieutenant General Robert A. Patterson | August 1, 1972 | July 31, 1975 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 9 | | Lieutenant General George E. Schafer | August 1, 1975 | July 31, 1978 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 10 | | Lieutenant General Paul W. Myers | August 1, 1978 | July 31, 1982 | 3 years, 364 days |
| 11 | | Lieutenant General Max B. Bralliar | August 1, 1982 | July 31, 1985 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 12 | | Lieutenant General Murphy A. Chesney | August 1, 1985 | July 31, 1988 | 2 years, 365 days |
| 13 | | Lieutenant General Monte B. Miller | August 1, 1988 | July 31, 1991 | 2 years, 364 days |
| 14 | | Lieutenant General Alexander M. Sloan | August 1, 1991 | July 11, 1994 | 2 years, 344 days |
| - | | Major General Robert A. Buethe Acting | July 12, 1994 | September 25, 1994 | 75 days |
| 15 | | Lieutenant General Edgar R. Anderson Jr. | September 26, 1994 | November 14, 1996 | 2 years, 49 days |
| 16 | | Lieutenant General Charles H. Roadman II | November 15, 1996 | October 10, 1999 | 2 years, 329 days |
| - | | Major General Michael K. Wyrick Acting | October 11, 1999 | October 31, 1999 | 20 days |
| 17 | | Lieutenant General Paul K. Carlton Jr. | November 1, 1999 | October 14, 2002 | 2 years, 347 days |
| 18 | | Lieutenant General George P. Taylor | October 15, 2002 | July 31, 2006 | 3 years, 289 days |
| 19 | | Lieutenant General James G. Roudebush | August 1, 2006 | August 11, 2009 | 3 years, 10 days |
| 20 | | Lieutenant General Charles B. Green | August 12, 2009 | July 19, 2012 | 2 years, 342 days |
| 21 | | Lieutenant General Thomas W. Travis | July 20, 2012 | June 5, 2015 | 2 years, 320 days |
| 22 | | Lieutenant General Mark A. Ediger | June 6, 2015 | June 4, 2018 | 2 years, 363 days |
| 23 | | Lieutenant General Dorothy A. Hogg | June 5, 2018 | December 20, 2019 | 1 year, 198 days |
| No. | Surgeon General of the Air Force and Space Force | Surgeon General of the Air Force and Space Force | Term | Term | Term |
| No. | Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Term length |
| 23 | | Lieutenant General Dorothy A. Hogg | December 20, 2019 | June 4, 2021 | 1 year, 166 days |
| 24 | | Lieutenant General Robert I. Miller | June 4, 2021 | June 14, 2024 | 3 years, 10 days |
| - | | Major General John DeGoes Acting | June 14, 2024 | July 31, 2024 | 47 days |
| 25 | | Lieutenant General John DeGoes | July 31, 2024 | Incumbent | 194 days |

## List of Deputy Surgeons Generals

* Brig Gen Olin F. McIlnay, 1945?
* Brig Gen Harry G. Armstrong, June 1949 – December 1949
* Brig Gen Dan C. Ogle, December 1949 – July 1954
* Maj Gen John K. Cullen, August 1959 – June 1961
* Maj Gen Richard L. Bohannon, June 1961 – December 1963
* Maj Gen Alonzo A. Towner, July 1966 – May 1970
* Maj Gen Maxwell Wensel Steel Jr., September 1, 1972 – August 1975
* Maj Gen Benjamin R. Baker, August 1975 – December 1976
* Maj Gen Garth B. Dettinger, December 1976 – May 1980
* Maj Gen James G. Sanders, October 1988 – October 1991
* Maj Gen Leonard M. Randolph Jr., November 1999 – July 2001
* Maj Gen James G. Roudebush, July 2001 – July 2006
* Maj Gen Charles B. Green, August 2006 – August 2009
* Maj Gen Byron C. Hepburn, August 2009 – November 2010
* Maj Gen Thomas W. Travis, November 2010 – July 2012
* Maj Gen Mark A. Ediger, July 2012 – June 2015
* Maj Gen Dorothy A. Hogg, June 2015 – June 2018
* Maj Gen Sean L. Murphy, June 2018 – June 2021
* Maj Gen John DeGoes, June 2021 – July 2024