Commander's Blog

This is a very exciting time in the history of USAMMDA! On July 9, our organization welcomed 27 members of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency who have joined the USAMMDA team as medical product development personnel. The group was given a very thorough orientation to our facility to ensure a smooth transition, and just last week we held a backyard barbeque to welcome the new folks to our USAMMDA family! I'm really excited to learn more about the products they are bringing over to the USAMMDA portfolio, and together we will continue to quickly advance these critical items to our Warfighters throughout the world. Please make sure to welcome these new staff members to our team!

And speaking of "team," we will be holding our annual summer Organizational Day on August 2 at Nallin Pond. We're looking forward to seeing everyone there, and I encourage you to bring your children and other family members, as it should be a really fun time with great food. Similar to past years, we will have lots of teambuilding activities, which are always entertaining, and we usually have pretty nice weather for this outdoor event — so make sure to contact Tara Mose or Amy Brown by July 25 to purchase the lunch order for you and your guests.

Another upcoming event is our Ice Cream Social fundraiser, with all proceeds going towards the USAMMDA holiday party. We'll be hosting this year's social on July 26, and of course, this event will feature the lighthearted "pie-in-the-face" challenge to raise additional funds. Make sure to come and join in the bidding war for your chance to see some of your esteemed colleagues get a face full of pie and whipped cream! Again, all proceeds will go towards our annual holiday party, which was truly outstanding last year.

On July 31, we will gather at building 1520 for our quarterly Town Hall meeting. Along with the presentation of various awards, we'll review topics including the recent USAMMDA/USAMMA transition, safety, the Army Strategic Direction, and other USAMRMC priorities. Please remember that these meetings allow for any business-related questions, concerns or ideas you may have, so I encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity to engage leadership with your thoughts.

Now that the summer is in full swing, sporting events are happening everywhere! I hope many of you were able to watch the exciting World Cup final this past weekend. It seems this soccer tournament never disappoints, and I am already looking forward to the next one in four years! Also, we are very close to finalizing a date for our USAMMDA night at the Frederick Keys stadium, and I'm hopeful that we'll have enough interest from staff members to make this happen! We would really like to see a good turnout for this event, and I know my family is looking forward to seeing an exciting game at the ballpark! Considering the important work we do each day, a relaxing night outdoors with friends and family would certainly be welcomed.

Let's always remember that we're saving lives with everything we do here at USAMMDA!

COL Ryan Bailey