Ming T. "Ted" Wong (born 22 October 1958) is a retired

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

and dentist in 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 was Chief of the US Army Dental Corps from 2010 until his retirement in 2014 and variously served as Commander for the Western Regional Medical Command, the North Atlantic Regional Dental Command, the Southern Regional Medical Command,

William Beaumont Army Medical Center William Beaumont Army Medical Center is a Department of Defense medical facility located in Fort Bliss, Texas. It provides comprehensive care to all beneficiaries including active duty military, their family members, and retirees. The hospital i ...

, the Northern Regional Medical Command, and the

Brooke Army Medical Center Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) is the United States Army's premier medical institution. Located on Fort Sam Houston, BAMC, a 425-bed Academic Medical Center, is the Department of Defense's largest facility and only Level 1 Trauma Center. BAMC ...

, among others.

Early life

Wong is a Southern California native and son of Po-Ping Wong of

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

, a dentist and 1965 graduate of

UCSF School of Dentistry The UCSF School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University of California, San Francisco, in San Francisco, California, in the United States. It was founded in 1881 and is the oldest dental school in California and the western United Sta ...

. His parents emigrated from China in the early 1950s. His paternal grandfather was a General Officer in the Chinese Nationalist Army and his maternal grandfather was a senior railroad executive who aided US Allied forces during World War II and was awarded with the Commander's Award for Civilian Service for his efforts.

Education and military career

Wong graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

as a Distinguished Military Graduate in 1980 and from

, his father's alma mater, in 1984. After graduation, he joined the

and was assigned to a dental clinic at a base in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. He completed his general dentistry residency at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...

and his specialized residency in

prosthodontics Prosthodontics, also known as dental prosthetics or prosthetic dentistry, is the area of dentistry that focuses on dental prostheses. It is one of 12 dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association (ADA), Royal College of Surge ...

at Fort Sam Houston. He is a board-certified dentist. He has a master's degree in

healthcare administration Health administration, healthcare administration, healthcare management or hospital management is the field relating to leadership, management, and administration of public health systems, health care systems, hospitals, and hospital networks ...

from

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

. His military education includes

AMEDD The Army Medical Department of the U.S. Army (AMEDD), formerly known as the Army Medical Service (AMS), encompasses the Army's six medical Special Branches (or "Corps"). It was established as the "Army Hospital" in July 1775 to coordinate the me ...

Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, and the Joint Medical Executive Skills Institute CAPSTONE Symposium; he also has a master's degree in strategic studies from the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

. After graduating from the Army War College, he was a senior dental staff officer at the

Office of the Surgeon General The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. Th ...

(OSG). Other clinical positions include Officer in Command at the Kelley Barracks Dental Clinic, Staff Officer and staff prosthodontist at Fort Sam Houston, Dental Executive Fellow at the OSG, and Chief of the AMEDD Center and School's dental lab. From 2008 to 2010, he served as the ninth US Army Dental Commander and was the first Asian-American to ever hold this position. In 2010, he was promoted to

and was appointed to Chief of the US Army Dental Corps, the 26th Chief overall and the first Chinese-American in the role. He held this position until his retirement in 2014. He was also appointed Deputy Commanding General for the Western Regional Medical Command and the Commanding General for the

in 2010. In 2011, he was "hand-picked" by Surgeon General Lt. Gen.

Patricia Horoho Patricia D. Horoho (née Dallas; born March 21, 1960) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who served as the 43rd Surgeon General of the United States Army and Commanding General of the United States Army Medical Command. She was th ...

as the San Antonio Military Health System's first deputy director in 2011 following Brooke Army Medical Center's merger with Wilford Hall. From 2011 to 2013, he commanded the Southern Regional Medical Command. In 2013, he left Fort Sam Houston to work as the Commanding General of the Northern Regional Medical Command at Fort Belvoir. He has also been the Deputy Commanding General of the Joint Readiness Training Center at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

, the deputy director of

San Antonio Military Medical Center Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) is the United States Army's premier medical institution. Located on Fort Sam Houston, BAMC, a 425-bed Academic Medical Center, is the Department of Defense's largest facility and only Level 1 Trauma Center. BAMC ...

, and the Commander of the North Atlantic Regional Dental Command, Walter Reed Dental Activity, the Dental Clinic Command at the Presidio of the Monterey, and the 665th Medical Company while in Korea. Wong retired from the military in 2014 and worked at UnitedHealth Group, where he held several executive positions, until 2020.

Selected honors

He is on the board of directors for the Association of Army Dentistry and was on the 2014 American Dental Education Association (ADEA) Council of Deans in the House of Delegates. He has earned the following awards from the

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

: Awards earned from other sources:

Personal life

He and his wife Jeannie have two sons and one daughter along with a dog.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Ted 1958 births Living people People from San Bernardino, California University of California, Los Angeles alumni American military personnel of Chinese descent University of California, San Francisco alumni American dentists Baylor University alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals Military personnel from California American people of Chinese descent American people of Hong Kong descent Major generals United States Army Medical Corps officers Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)