Joseph Caravalho Jr., M.D., (born c. 1957) is a physician and retired Major General of the Medical Corps of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. He is currently the president and CEO of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. He has held specialized staff medical positions, served in operations at hospitals, and commanded major medical installations across the United States as well as operations in actions overseas. In December 2015, he was appointed as the Joint Staff surgeon, the chief medical advisor to the

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...

Early life and education

Joseph Caravalho Jr. was born in 1957 in Hawaii to Agnes and Joseph Caravalho, Sr. and grew up in

Kaneohe Kāneohe () is a census-designated place (CDP) included in the City and County of Honolulu and located in Hawaii state District of Koolaupoko on the island of Oahu. In the Hawaiian language, ''kāne ohe'' means "bamboo man". According to an a ...

Oahu Oahu () (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering place#Island of Oʻahu as The Gathering Place, Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over t ...

. His family is of Puerto Rican and Chinese descent. He attended St. Louis High School in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. He graduated from

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

with a BS in Mathematics in 1979 and was commissioned a second lieutenant through the Army ROTC Program. He then completed his

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

at the

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) is a health science university of the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps as ...

School of Medicine, and was commissioned a captain in the

United States Army Medical Corps The Medical Corps (MC) of the U.S. Army is a staff corps (non-combat specialty branch) of the U.S. Army Medical Department (AMEDD) consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an M.D. or a D.O. degree, at least one ye ...

. He is also a graduate of the Army War College, where he earned a master's degree in strategic studies.

Career

Caravalho has held positions as a staff internist,

nuclear medicine physician Nuclear medicine physicians, also called nuclear radiologists or simply nucleologists, are medical specialists that use tracers, usually radiopharmaceuticals, for diagnosis and therapy. Nuclear medicine procedures are the major clinical applicati ...

, and

cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular hear ...

. He served as Chief of Cardiology at

Tripler Army Medical Center Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC) is a major United States Department of Defense medical facility administered by the United States Army in the state of Hawaii. It is the tertiary care hospital in the Pacific Rim, serving local active and retire ...

, Honolulu, Hawaii, and as Deputy Commander for Clinical Services at

Womack Army Medical Center Womack Army Medical Center (WAMC) is a United States Army-run military hospital that is located on Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina. The facility is named for Medal of Honor recipient Bryant H. Womack. It contains 138 beds, with a ...

Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...

, North Carolina. His operational medical experience includes assignments as Surgeon, 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Okinawa, Japan; Physician Augmentee, Joint Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg; Surgeon, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, GA; Deputy Chief of Staff, Surgeon, U.S. Army Special Operations Command; Assistant Chief of Staff, Health Affairs, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg. He also commanded the 28th Combat Support Hospital and the 44th Medical Command (Rear) (Provisional), both at Fort Bragg. He has had two deployments in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

, most recently serving as the Surgeon for both Multi-National Force-Iraq and Multi-National Corps-Iraq. After his last deployment, he served as the Commanding General for Great Plains Regional Medical Command (RMC). Following USAMEDCOM reorganization, he commanded both Southern RMC and Brooke AMC, at

Fort Sam Houston, Texas Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...

. Caravalho served as Commanding General, Northern RMC,

Fort Belvoir, Virginia A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. He next served as Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and Fort Detrick, at

Fort Detrick, Maryland Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, i ...

. In 2015 he was selected as Deputy Surgeon General and Deputy Commanding General (Support),

United States Army Medical Command The U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) is a direct reporting unit of the U.S. Army that formerly provided command and control of the Army's fixed-facility medical, dental, and veterinary treatment facilities, providing preventive care, medical res ...

. In December 2015, it was announced that Caravalho was assigned to the

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

as chief medical advisor ("Joint Staff Surgeon").The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine welcomed Caravalho as their President and CEO on September 1st, 2017 where he currently serves as leadership for 2800 medical and research professionals.

Awards and recognitions

References

External links

Profile: Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Joseph Caravalho, Jr.
–

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

"Fluent in the 'international language' of health:; Q&A with top doc in Iraq"
''Gonzaga Quarterly,'' Summer 2009
Highlights from Joseph Caravalho's Speech
Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA) National Conference 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Caravalho, Joseph Living people Gonzaga University alumni People from Oahu Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences alumni United States Army generals 1957 births