Commander's Blog
The Army Has So Much to Celebrate!
By COL Ryan Bailey, published on 06/25/2018
Recently, the U.S. Army celebrated its 243rd "birthday," and we recognized the 75th anniversary of Fort Detrick earlier this month as well. When most of us think of the Army, the image that usually comes to mind is one of men and women in camouflage green uniforms. However, since the very beginning of the Army's establishment as a Service branch, the Army's civilian workforce has been contributing to the successful completion of the mission. Together, we stand as a key factor in taking care of our Service Members, whether it be with health care providers or our materiel developers. Without question, this has been the key to carrying out the USAMRMC's mission to create, develop, deliver and sustain medical capabilities for our Warfighters throughout the world.
Also this month, the Army's Medical Service Corps is celebrating its 101st anniversary as one of the Army Medical Department's Career Corps. Established in 1917 during World War I, the Medical Service Corps plays a part in almost every effort of the Army Medical Department, filling key roles in planning, programming and budgeting, as well as many other administrative functions. Here at USAMMDA, we currently have 14 MSC officers on our team, and the work we do certainly helps to support all of our military branches. Personally, I'm honored to be a part of the MSC, working alongside passionate professionals who help to strengthen our nation, our military and civilians worldwide – so I hope I speak for the entire USAMMDA family when I say "congratulations" to the MSC, the Army and Fort Detrick for reaching these very impressive milestones in their respective histories!
Well, our U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency and USAMMDA Project Management Office realignment is now just two weeks away, and I appreciate everyone's sense of teamwork and positivity as we tackle these new changes that affect both organizations. This merger will certainly help to bring more success in the future, as the addition of nearly 30 professionals to our USAMMDA team will only increase our productivity and output for our Warfighters. But as we all know, with new opportunities come new challenges, so we must continue to rise to the occasion by doing our very best to continue delivering our medical products quickly to those in need. I'm sure all of us realize the responsibility that goes with taking on additional staff members and more products, so it's up to us to perform at the highest level possible. We always have to be on the ball, so continue to monitor the USAMMDA intranet for updates.
And on the sports theme, I hope many of you have been keeping up with the exciting matches being played in this year's World Cup soccer championship. I was really excited to hear that North America will co-host the 2026 World Cup matches, and I'm hoping to see a match or two in person. Now that the summer is in full swing, there are many fun sporting events to see within driving distance from Frederick. From the Orioles to the Nationals, and right here in town with the Keys, there's something for everyone who likes baseball. Regardless of your sporting interests, there's so much to see and do in our region. And we're still working on setting a date for a USAMMDA night at the Keys stadium this summer, so we hope to send out information about this in the near future – it should be a great time!
Let's always remember that we're saving lives with everything we do here at USAMMDA!
COL Ryan Bailey