Commander's Blog

February is recognized as American Heart Month throughout the country, and I'm very proud of how our USAMMDA team is invested "whole-heartedly" in our noble mission of saving lives and helping to support and sustain our Warfighters with effective medical solutions. We also must maintain our heart health, and as we're more than a month into our New Year's resolutions, I hope we've all been able to keep up with the fitness goals we've set for this year. I know I'm doing my best, as personal health is critical in helping to maintain a proper and effective balance between our work and home lives, managing our family time with daily exercise and nutrition schedules. This is very important in helping us to remain at an optimum level so we can carry out our USAMMDA mission successfully.

February is also known as Black History Month, and we celebrate the many contributions of African Americans in defense and support of our great nation. We honor their service in our military over the past century and a half. In the face of historical struggles, this brave group of men and women have chosen to take on the battles of our nation against enemies. Their struggle is our struggle, and our freedom is their freedom – we all stand together to defend liberty. Our military is comprised of every background, we're extremely diverse; but we all bleed the same red blood, and we all love this country enough to offer the ultimate sacrifice if necessary. This makes us all Americans, and it makes us one.

Coming up this week is Valentine's Day, which seems to coincide with "Heart" Month. I encourage everyone to spend some quality time with loved ones, and remember to thank them for supporting us in our mission. And speaking of this, we are continuing our planning sessions in support of our transition to the Army Futures Command on March 1 – to meet the intent of Army leadership – and we will ensure that everyone has the most current information available regarding these changes. But again, even though this may be a busy time for us, we must stay focused on our daily work of supporting our Warfighters with whatever they need to remain ready at all times.

Safety continues to be a priority for our organization, and I hope that we're all vigilant and reporting anything that may be a hazard. Unfortunately, we've had a few minor off-duty driving incidents, involving some USAMMDA staff members, and we've had some slip-and-fall incidents on the USAMDMA grounds as well. Please be very careful when walking in and around the building, and also be mindful during windy days, as we've had some debris fall from the roof recently. We've been very fortunate not to have had any serious accidents, and I really would like to keep it this way.

Finally, I hope you were able to enjoy this year's Super Bowl, both the game and the always-entertaining commercials. If your team wasn't in the match-up this year, or if your team didn't win, just remember that there will always be next year. I should know, because I'm usually saying this about my team, the Atlanta Falcons. But I still keep the faith that they will one day win a Super Bowl – and I certainly wouldn't mind if you'd keep that same faith too!

Always remember that we're saving lives with everything we do here at USAMMDA!

COL Ryan Bailey