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 The United States Department of the Air Force (DAF) is one of the three military departments within the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Air Force was formed on Sept ...

and thus serves as surgeon general for both the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

. In recent times, this has been a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

who serves as head of the United States

Air Force Medical Service The United States Air Force Medical Service (AFMS) consists of the five distinct medical corps of the United States Air Force, Air Force and enlisted medical technicians. The AFMS was created in 1949 after the newly independent Air Force's firs ...

(AFMS). The Surgeon General is usually the senior Medical Corps officer, but acting surgeons general have been from other branches of the medical service.

History

In September 1947 the combat elements of the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

separated from the

U.S. 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 ...

, forming the

. 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 Major General Malcolm Cummings Grow (November 19, 1887 – October 20, 1960) was the first Surgeon General of the United States Air Force from July 1, 1949 to November 30, 1949. Biography Grow received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical C ...

(1887-1960), began to convince the U.S. Army and the administration of President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

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 A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

, Dental Corps, Veterinary Corps, Medical Service Corps, Air Force

Nurse Corps Most professional militaries employ specialised military nurses. They are often organised as a distinct nursing corps. Florence Nightingale formed the first nucleus of a recognised Nursing Service for the British Army during the Crimean War in 1854 ...

, and Women's Medical Specialist Corps.

List of Surgeons Generals

List of Deputy Surgeons Generals

* Brig Gen Olin F. McIlnay, 1945??? * Brig Gen

Harry G. Armstrong Harry George Armstrong (February 17, 1899 – February 5, 1983) was a major general in the United States Air Force, a physician, and an airman. He is widely recognized as a pioneer in the field of aviation medicine. The "Armstrong limit", the alti ...

, 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. Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek Λέων ("lion") through the Latin '' L ...

, 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-present

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.sg.af.mil/ *
Chronology Of The Air Force Surgeons General
United States Air Force appointments *S * Military medicine in the United States 1948 establishments in the United States

History

List of Surgeons Generals

List of Deputy Surgeons Generals

See also

References

External links