United States Air Force Medical Service The United States Air Force Medical Service ( AFMS ) consists of the five distinct medical corps of the Air Force and enlisted medical technicians . The AFMS was created in 1949 after the newly independent Air Force ’ s first Surgeon General , Maj . General Malcolm C . Grow ( 1887 – 1960 ) , convinced the United States Army and 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 . The AFMS is led by The Surgeon General of the Air Force , who holds the rank of lieutenant general . The AFMS is found in all three components of the Air Force , including the Active Air Force , the U . S . Air Force Reserve , and the Air National Guard . Headquartered at The Air Staff , Bolling Air Force Base , Washington , D . C . , AFMS senior leaders can be found in all of the Major Commands and in the Pentagon . The current Air Force Surgeon General is Lieutenant General ( Dr . ) Charles B . ( Bruce ) Green , a chief flight surgeon , Aerospace Medicine Specialist , and family practice physician . Medical branches . Biomedical Sciences Corps . Established in 1965 from the defunct Women ’ s Medical Specialist Corps and components of the Medical Service Corps , the Biomedical Sciences Corps ( BSC ) consists entirely of commissioned officers . This is the most diversified of the Medical Corps , consisting of members in Physical Therapy , Optometry , Podiatry , Physician Assistant , Audiology / Speech pathology , Psychology , Social Worker , Occupational Therapy , Aerospace physiology , Biomedical Scientists , Clinical Dietitian , Bioenvironmental Engineering , Public Health Officers , Entomology , Pharmacy , Medical lab Officers , and Health Physicists . The Chief of the Biomedical Sciences Corps is a brigadier general . Dental Corps . The Dental Corps consists of commissioned officers holding the Doctor of Dental Surgery degree or Doctor of Dental Medicine degree or a further , post - graduate degree . The chief of the Dental Corps is a major general . Medical Corps . The Medical Corps consists entirely of commissioned Air Force physicians , including holders of the Doctor of Medicine ( MD ) degree and the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine ( DO ) degree . A member of the Medical Corps can also become a Flight Surgeon . The Chief of the Medical Corps is a brigadier general . Physicians can enter service into the Air Force through several different paths . Cadets at the US Air Force Academy can compete for selection to medical school at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences ( USUHS ) or at any CONUS medical school though HPSP . An academy graduate who attends USUHS will incur a twelve - year ( seven for USUHS and five for the Academy ) service commitment not counting any training such as residency and fellowship ; an academy graduate who attends a civilian medical school will incur a nine - year service commitment not counting any training such as residency and fellowship . Civilian undergraduates can also apply to USUHS , they incur a seven - year service commitment . USUHS student are commissioned officers at the rank of Second Lieutenant ( O - 1 ) and are paid as full - time active duty members . All of their school and expenses are paid by the US Air Force . USUHS graduates must complete residency training in a military residency program . Civilian medical school students can apply for the Health Professions Scholarship Program ( HPSP ) . HPSP medical students have their medical school tuition paid by the US Air Force and receive a monthly stipend for living expenses , but they are not on active duty . These graduates can usually attend a civilian or military residency training program and incur a three or four - year service commitment ( one year commitment per year of scholarship assistance ) . Civilian resident physicians can enter Air Force service through the Financial Assistance Program ( FAP ) . FAP physicians receive payment while in residency , but do not receive funds to pay for medical school . Unlike all other programs in the Air Force , they incur a service commitment of based on their length in the program , plus one year ( e . g . two years in the program incurs a three - year service commitment ) . All graduates of residency training enter active duty at the rank of Captain ( O - 3 ) . Most of the US Air Force Academy graduates pursue a career as an Air Force physician , while the vast majority of HPSP graduates leave the service as soon as their commitment is completed . The Air Force also recruits fully trained and practicing physicians to enter active duty . Their rank at entry is based on their experience . Medical Service Corps . The Medical Service Corps ( MSC ) consists entirely of commissioned officers . Members are required to hold a bachelor ' s or master ’ s degree in Healthcare , Management , Economics , Finance , Operations Research , Business Administration or similar degree before receiving a commission , and must complete a specialized Air Force healthcare administration course . This course , conducted at Fort Sam Houston , Texas , provides new MSC officers with the knowledge needed to perform as an entry level department manager in an Air Force Medical Treatment Facility ( MTF ) . The Health Service Administration ( HSA ) Course is a 5 - week course designed to train newly commissioned Medical Service Corps officers for their first duty assignment . The course is accredited for 11 graduate credit hours by the American Council on Education ( ACE ) . MSCs serve as hospital administrators , resource management officers , directors of information systems / technology , managed care and patient administrators , group practice managers , medical logisticians , and medical readiness officers . MSC officers are also expected to become Board certified by one of several national healthcare administration organizations . This is usually done while the officer is in the rank of captain or Major . The Chief of the Medical Service Corps is Brigadier General Charles Potter . Nurse Corps . The Nurse Corps consists entirely of commissioned officers . New members of the Air Force Nurse Corps are required to hold at minimum a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree prior to receiving a commission . Members of the Air Force Nurse Corps work in all aspects of Air Force Medicine and can serve as Flight Nurse in aeromedical evacuation missions , nurse practitioner , and nurse anesthetist . The first Chief of the Air Force Nurse Corps was Colonel Verena Marie Zeller ( 1949 – 1956 ) . The first two - star general Chief of the Air Force Nurse Corps was Major General Barbara Brannon ; she was replaced in 2005 by Maj Gen Melissa Rank . In 2008 , it was announced that Colonel Kimberly Siniscalchi would be promoted to the rank of Major General and serve as the Chief of the AF Nurse Corps , thereby bypassing the rank of Brigadier General ( 1 - star ) . Enlisted Medics . Air Force Enlisted Medical personnel perform in over twenty different medical fields including medical administration , mental health , dental care , optometry , physical therapy , aeromedical evacuation , medical logistics , laboratory sciences , surgical care , emergency care , radiology , pharmacy , etc . Enlisted medics are led by a Chief Master Sergeant .