USAMMDA team bids farewell to senior enlisted medical advisor
The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity team bade farewell to U.S. Army Master Sgt. Hunter Black during a luncheon in his honor at the USAMMDA headquarters, May 17, 2024, Fort Detrick, Maryland.
As the organization's senior enlisted advisor from December 2021 through May 2024, Black was responsible for providing operational guidance and critical expertise to the organization's advanced medical developers, according to USAMMDA's commander, U.S. Army Col. Andy Nuce.
"Master Sgt. Black's experience has been in great demand as he worked with multiple stakeholders across the Army and Department of Defense," said Nuce. "As a combat medic, his sound judgment and practical guidance ensured that the end-user perspective was well represented in medical product design and development."
During his tenure, Black personally helped advance a portfolio of 38 product development efforts, according to Nuce. These medical solutions ranged from drugs, vaccines, and devices for far-forward prolonged field care, to telemedicine and casualty evacuation platforms – all directly impacting Large Scale Combat Operations.
With Black's input and trauma treatment knowledge, USAMMDA managed over 45 medical equipment modernization initiatives. One major achievement in this area was the delivery of the field Computed Tomography (CT) scanner to Army trauma care organizations, providing an eight-fold increase in quality diagnostic imaging. This capability better informs medical providers, enhancing diagnosis and far-forward patient outcomes and maximizing return to duty.
Black's extensive knowledge enabled him to improve the integration of procurement and fielding of mission sets to deployable units. In coordination with multiple stakeholders – including the U.S. Forces Command, Special Operations Command, National Guard, and U.S. Army Reserve – he worked to ensure maximum equipping and readiness across all components. Black guided the uninterrupted delivery of approximately 1,300 medical equipment sets and 6,300 pieces of equipment worth more than $235 million to equip more than 400 medical organizations during his tenure, according to Nuce.
"Master Sgt. Black led the unit's combat medic activities through a period of immense organizational growth, change, and transformation," said Nuce. "Our transition to the Defense Health Agency has made for some challenging times – but through it all, his ability to forge strategic partnerships and engage with key stakeholders was a constant. Thanks in part to Master Sgt. Black's leadership, USAMMDA's mission to develop and deliver medical solutions for the Warfighter has never wavered."
Reflecting on his experiences at USAMMDA, Black paid tribute to his colleagues and noted the bonds formed while transitioning one part of the organization to the Defense Health Agency and shifting command and control of the Soldier Medical Devices Project Management Office to the Army's Program Executive Office-Soldier.
"I will never forget the challenges we faced with COVID, the DHA transition, and the adoption of Army processes with PEO-Soldier," said Black. "The resilience of [USAMMDA's] Soldiers, civilians, and contractors was amazing and continues to inspire me. I look forward to continued support of USAMMDA."
In addition to his operational contributions, Black played a key role in developing and enhancing combat medic training for over 28,000 military personnel. His mentorship of medics at Fort Detrick, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, and across the Army has been essential to improving direct medical care. He is recognized as a combat medic Subject Matter Expert and serves on the Joint Interoperability Standards Board, the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care, and several other operational medicine governing bodies.
"Master Sgt. Black's training and modernization efforts have touched the lives of every service member injured in theater and will do so for years to come," said Nuce. "It has been an honor to serve with him and we wish him much success in his next chapter."
Black's new role is serving as first sergeant of the Special Operations Medical Detachment, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Liberty, North Carolina.
"It has been a pleasure to serve alongside some of the greatest acquisition professionals in the field of military medicine," said Black. "It has been a humbling experience to learn from each other and advance military medicine into the future. Our Warfighters should feel more at ease knowing that USAMMDA and USAMRDC are striving to take care of our Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors, Marines and Guardians both at home and abroad by developing and delivering the medical capabilities of 2030."