Lester Martínez López Major General Lester Martínez López ( Ret . ) , MD , MPH , ( born 1955 ) is the first Hispanic to head the Army Medical and Research Command at Fort Detrick , Maryland . His responsibilities included overseeing the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Disease , which develops antidotes and vaccines for diseases soldiers might face on the battlefield . Early years . Martínez López was born in the city of Mayagüez , located on the western coast of Puerto Rico , but was raised and educated in the town of Maricao . In 1978 , he graduated from the School of Medicine in the University of Puerto Rico . Military career . In 1978 , Martínez López joined the United States Army and was sent to Fort Bragg in North Carolina , where he received his specialty training in family practice and commissioned a Captain upon the completion of his training . He was part of a multinational force in Lebanon following the 1982 Israeli invasion . In 1983 , he completed his MPH ( Master of Public Health ) degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with a focus in environmental health sciences . In 1995 , Martínez López served as chief medical officer when U . S . forces were sent to Haiti , and three years later , in 1998 , he oversaw military relief operations for 8 , 500 victims of Hurricane Mitch in Central America . U . S . Army Medical Research and Materiel Command . On March 22 , 2002 , Martínez López assumed the command of the U . S . Army Medical Research and Materiel Command . The command ' s research includes vaccines for dengue fever , anthrax and hepatitis ; anti - virals for smallpox and countermeasures for environmental , biological and chemical hazards . As commander of USAMRMC , Martínez López managed more than 4 , 600 civilian , military and contract facilities at the Army ' s six medical research laboratories across the country , which include the U . S . Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases , the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research , the U . S . Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense , the U . S . Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory , the U . S . Army Institute of Surgical Research and the U . S . Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine . Also under his command were more than half a dozen support centers through contracting , medical logistics management , health care facility planning and information technology management , included the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center ( TATRC ) , the U . S . Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity and the U . S . Army Medical Materiel Agency . USAMRMC Accomplishments . Among the major accomplishments of the USAMRMC while under his command are the following : Martínez López wrote the keynote for " Biomaterials for Military Medical Needs . On May 19 , 2004 , Martínez López was the recipient of the 2004 " Woodrow Wilson Award for Distinguished Government Service " from the Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health . He was the keynote speaker at the Delta Omega Honor Society induction ceremony . Martínez López has been featured on the cover of " U . S . Medicine " magazine and on the cover of the December 26 , 2002 issue of " Military Medical Technology " magazine . Later years . Martínez López retired from the Army in 2005 and was named the Senior Vice President & Administrator of Lyndon B . Johnson General Hospital Harris County Hospital District in Houston , Texas . Martínez López belongs to various professional organizations , among them the American Board of Family Practice and the American Board of Preventive Medicine . He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Family Practice . Military awards and recognitions . Among Major General Martínez López ' s military awards and recognition ' s are the following : Badges