LTG(R) Ronald Blanck, DO – From Vietnam Battalion Surgeon to Surgeon General of The US Army

WarDocs - The Military Medicine Podcast

LTG(R) Ronald Blanck, DO served in multiple leadership positions across the globe in his 32 years in the Army. These assignments include Commander of Berlin Army Hospital, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at the Uniformed Services University, commander of Walter Reed Medical Center, and Surgeon General of the US Army. After his career in the Army, he served as the President of the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. He currently serves as an advisor on bioterrorism issues and an expert in preparing the medical community to respond to mass casualty incidences.

In this episode, he describes how his career in the Army started out in a memorable fashion by being deployed as a Battalion Surgeon to Vietnam weeks after finishing his intern year, and discusses the many lessons learned from this experience. He then had the opportunity to serve at Walter Reed and was an integral faculty member in the early years of the Uniformed Services University rising to the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs. He discusses the importance of USUHS and how it develops doctors prepared to serve in the military. After serving as the Chief of Medicine at Brooke Army Medical center he was then sent to Berlin to be the commander of Berlin Army Hospital and discusses what it was like interacting with the Soviets and his trips to East Berlin. Shortly after serving in Europe he became the commander of Walter Reed and ended his career as the Surgeon General of the US Army and Chief of the U.S. Army Medical Corps. We discuss many of the opportunities and tribulations he experienced while at Walter Reed and later serving at the Pentagon including how he helped shape the DoD's response to Anthrax threats. He shares many insights, historical references, and leadership lessons over a distinguished career. You don’t want to miss this episode!

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