Materiel Matters
Malaria in the Military: Protecting our Warfighters
By USAMMDA Public Affairs, published on 04/23/2021
Lace up your boots, grab your packs – it's time to deploy. [Read more...]
Materiel vs. Material – It's More Than a Typo
By USAMMDA Public Affairs, published on 01/30/2020
Whenever someone new begins a career with the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, a subordinate command of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command, they must quickly learn the difference between "materiel" and "material" – if they don't already know this, of course. The pronunciation is very similar, so this causes a problem for some, who may not have seen it in print beforehand. However, the team at USAMMDA is very familiar with these words, and their distinct definitions with regard to Army acquisition, and we'd like to share this information with our followers. [Read more...]
The Start of Something New
By Colonel Gina Adam, published on 12/03/2019
Hello, I'm COL Gina Adam, commander of the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, located at Fort Detrick, Maryland. On behalf of USAMMDA, I'd like to welcome you to our new Command blog, Materiel Matters, which we intend to publish monthly for followers of our great organization! Although I will still continue writing the USAMMDA Commander's Blog for our command's staff members, this external blog will be geared towards providing timely, interesting and necessary information for our public followers. [Read more...]
Thank You for Your Great Work!
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 06/17/2019
I can't believe it's already been two years since I came to this great organization! It seems like only yesterday that I was taking the USAMMDA guidon from Col. Geesey during the Change of Command ceremony, and now we're only days away from the next ceremony, where I'll pass the guidon to your new USAMMDA commander, Col. Gina Adam. I'm most proud of the organization's accomplishments during a time of unprecedented change in the Army. We've successfully conducted multiple organizational transitions, as we've moved from being under the Army Medical Command, to the Army Materiel Command, and now to the Army Futures Command – all the while continuing to deliver critical products to our Warfighters. We've seen historical numbers for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of our products, including the anti-malarial drug Tafenoquine, the pain management drug Sufentanil, and the Laboratory Assay for Traumatic Brain Injury product, which is the first-ever blood-based test to detect instances of mild TBI. We've also moved a number of our products closer to the finish line as well, such as freeze-dried plasma, which can help save lives far forward on the battlefield. [Read more...]
Remembering Our Nation's Warfighters
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 05/28/2019
I hope everyone had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, and that you were able to enjoy quality time with family and friends. Most importantly, we all should take time to give thanks to those who served and gave the greatest sacrifice for our country. It's really important that we keep in mind our fallen warriors, not only on Memorial Day but all throughout the year. It's because of them, and all of our military Service Members, that we continue to live free in our great nation. And if you haven't been to Arlington National Cemetery, especially during the Memorial Day holiday, with all of the grave flags in place, you really should spend some time walking the grounds – it's truly an inspirational sight. [Read more...]
Military Appreciation and Honoring Inventors
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 05/06/2019
Throughout May, our nation shows its appreciation of our military members serving throughout the world. However, May is also National Inventors Month, so within the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, we have the unique opportunity to honor our Service Members that are part of critical product development groups. Our mission to create new medical capabilities that support the health of our military involves numerous partnerships with medical laboratories across the globe, as well as important transition agreements to make this happen. We work with our military labs within the USAMRMC, and other federal partners and industry, so it's truly a team effort to bring new technologies forward and have these transition quickly to the acquisition process for development. [Read more...]
April Shouldn't Fool Anyone!
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 04/15/2019
It's April 15, and Tax Day is here again! If you haven't done so already, please don't forget to submit your tax paperwork by midnight tonight, to avoid any penalties or problems with the IRS. More important, however, we should always keep in mind that as stewards of taxpayer dollars, we must remain committed to managing our budgets efficiently to support the Department of Defense and Army priorities. At the same time, as acquisition professionals, we have to continue to do our business as intelligently as possible, to meet the intent of what the taxpayers expect from us. [Read more...]
Supporting Brain Injury Awareness
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 03/25/2019
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month, and brain injury research and treatment remains a major part of our USAMMDA mission. This past year, we saw tremendous success with our Laboratory Assay for Traumatic Brain Injury program, which received FDA approval for the first-ever blood-based assay used to detect instances of mild TBI. Even more recently, our Neurotrauma and Psychological Health PMO announced the award of Army funds to our commercial partner to conduct a Phase 3 clinical trial to validate the i-STAT TBI assay in whole blood. This handheld point-of-care device will help to detect mTBI far-forward on the battlefield – leading to faster diagnosis and treatment of our injured Warfighters. Without a doubt, our USAMMDA team continues to do its part to help ensure the health and safety of our Service Members, for various types of brain injuries as well as other wounds. [Read more...]
Strengthening Our USAMMDA Team
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 03/04/2019
I'd like to start by welcoming our new team members who are joining us from the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency. With around 66 new professionals coming on board – including military, federal civilian and contract personnel – we're very excited about the great products and projects they bring with them. Our mission is certainly expanding with the pending reorganization under the Army Futures Command, and we're looking forward to all of the wonderful new opportunities that lie ahead for us. [Read more...]
The Heart of the Matter
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 02/11/2019
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. [Read more...]
Realizing a Great Legacy
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 01/22/2019
This week, many of us enjoyed a day off from work in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. While some of us probably spent time resting or catching up on chores around the house, I hope that everyone took some time to reflect upon the great life and legacy of Dr. King. His fight for civil rights and equality for all certainly continues in his memory today, and here at USAMMDA, we're all about saving lives – each and every one we can – regardless of race, gender, religion, etc. It's our mission, and our legacy. [Read more...]
Looking Forward to Another Great Year!
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 12/31/2018
Happy New Year to everyone! Hopefully, all of you had a wonderful holiday season, spent with friends and family – and now you're ready to tackle 2019 with lots of energy! If you're like me, you probably made some New Year's resolutions, although I know some of these are sometimes very difficult to keep (like staying clear of the dessert tray!). But the truly important resolutions are usually much easier to accomplish. Some of my personal priorities include taking care of my family and my health, and making sure that USAMMDA remains a great place to work. I'd say that family, health and career are probably at the top of the list for many folks when it comes to resolutions each year, and hopefully we're all able to make sure these don't get missed. [Read more...]
Why We Do What We Do
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 12/10/2018
Why do we come to work each day? What drives us? Well, for the team at USAMMDA, I believe we'd all agree that our deployed Warfighters are our first priority. And during the holiday season, the sacrifices of these brave men and women really come into focus when we consider that they are overseas, far away from their own loved ones so that we can remain safe at home with ours. In fact, one of our USAMMDA family members, CPT Amanda Roth, is currently deployed. We're putting together a holiday care package to send to her, and LTC Fruge is leading this effort for us. Although it may not be the same as being at home this season, I'm sure that CPT Roth will appreciate our heartfelt gesture. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and everyone on deployment this holiday season. [Read more...]
Helping to Care for Our Warriors
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 11/19/2018
In 2008, November was designated "Warrior Care Month" by the Secretary of Defense as a "DOD-wide effort aimed at increasing awareness of programs and resources available to wounded, ill and injured Service Members, their families, and those who care about them." At USAMMDA, we actually support this effort each and every month of the year, as our primary mission is focused on providing critical medical products to our Warfighters both on and off the battlefield. [Read more...]
Having Fun During a "Scary" Time
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 10/29/2018
With Halloween only two days away, spooky decorations are all around to welcome the children who will be out in their colorful costumes, hoping for candy throughout their neighborhoods. But even though the night should be a fun time, we should take the necessary precautions to ensure the safety of children and adults alike on Halloween night. The National Safety Council has a number of great recommendations that we all should regard, such as chaperoning young children and planning a safe route through the neighborhood. Travel in well-lit areas, and instruct older children to walk together in a group and ask them to refrain from electronic devices so they can stay alert at all times. As for the motorists, we should all pay close attention to the pedestrians that night who are walking around and crossing streets, and perhaps may not be focused on the cars around them. If we all practice these great suggestions, it will help to make this year's Halloween night a safe and happy time for everyone! [Read more...]
We Save Lives
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 10/09/2018
Since our establishment more than 30 years ago, USAMMDA has witnessed the success of numerous medical products and devices that have been used to save many lives, both military and civilian. While some items may take longer than others to develop and produce, the dedication of our team and our partners remains the same – we never stop working until the given requirement has been met. [Read more...]
Keeping USAMMDA a Respectful and Inclusive Workplace
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 09/25/2018
At USAMMDA, we all have positive contributions to make. In the execution of our mission, our people are the fundamental backbone of all we accomplish. We are all diverse; we all have special talents; we all have valuable knowledge, and it's the combination of these talents, knowledge, skills and abilities in our collaboration on projects that allows us to carry out our work successfully each day. It takes all of our military, civilians and government contractors, working in their unique roles, to do this. And it doesn't matter, in the least, what race, color, religion, gender or national origin a person may be, as each one of us has positive contributions to make toward our mission – and this input is, and should always be, highly valued. [Read more...]
Another Successful Year for USAMMDA
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 09/17/2018
As we wrap up fiscal year 2018, we should all be pleased with our great success over the past twelve months. I'm excited about the fiscal year close-out just ahead, as were on target to complete all of our financial transactions for the year. We've invested in many improvements to our building, and also in furniture to ensure that we help everyone get settled in after the USAMMA/USAMMDA transition. It's always busy at the end of each fiscal year, and I couldn't be more proud of the way our team has worked together to wrap up FY18. So I say "thank you" to our entire team for this great effort! [Read more...]
Safety is Everyone's Responsibility
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 08/27/2018
Recently, we completed the Army Readiness Assessment Program, and I'm pleased to announce that USAMMDA has been recognized in the top 25 percent of Army organizations for safety and preparedness. This is a testament to our vigilance regarding safety throughout our group. Although Marvin Saunders serves as USAMMDA's safety officer, it's everyone's responsibility to be a safety officer whenever you see a potential hazard. All of us should be familiar with the phrase "see something, say something" in regard to anti-terrorism scenarios, but this concept should also be used daily as our team's mantra to ensure we remain safe at all times. We must immediately report all potential risks and hazards, regardless of how large or small the threat may seem. Nothing is trivial when it comes to saving someone from harm or injury, but leadership can't help to correct a problem unless we're made aware of it. Yes, we work in an older building that has its challenges, and we all have joked about this at times, but it's really no joking matter. Please be careful in the stairwells, on the walkways, and throughout the halls. We must live in a "culture of safety" each and every day! [Read more...]
Sharing Ideas on Innovative Military Medical Products
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 08/6/2018
We're just two weeks away from the start of this year's Department of Defense Military Health System Research Symposium in Kissimmee, Florida, and we have about 60 of our team members that are very busy gearing up for this great conference. This year's theme is "Medical Innovation for Warfighter Readiness: The Future Starts Now," and this topic certainly remains on the forefront of everything we do here at USAMMDA. Nearly a dozen of our team members will present important topics during the four-day meeting, and I'm sure this will be of great interest to many attendees. [Read more...]
The Future of USAMMDA Product Development
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 07/16/2018
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! [Read more...]
The Army Has So Much to Celebrate!
By Colonel 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. [Read more...]
Making the Most of the Summer Season
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 06/04/2018
Each June, our nation recognizes the great men and women of our U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, as we celebrate the anniversary of its formation on June 3, 1916. For the past 102 years, this organization has been helping to keep our country safe with work that goes far beyond the general care of animals. In the medical materiel world, especially in product development, there is a clinical pathway that begins with clinical animal studies on the science and technology side. This vital research is then translated to human clinical studies, to develop medical products and vaccines that help save the lives of many throughout our military and civilian populations. [Read more...]
Showing Our Support and Gratitude
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 05/14/2018
It's not surprising that, each year, many of us stay busy throughout the month of May, as it's always jam-packed with a surplus of special occasions and events. Personally, I'm honored to be serving our country as an Army Soldier, and I am always grateful to those who thank me for my service, especially during National Military Appreciation Month each May. I'd also like to thank each and every Service Member who puts on a uniform like I do, as this unified dedication helps to keep our nation strong and ready at all times. For most, if not all of us, military life is much more than a career – it's truly a vocation that adds a great deal of meaning to both our lives and our families. [Read more...]
Honoring Our Administrative Professionals
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 04/23/2018
On April 25, organizations across the nation will honor our administrative specialists on "Administrative Professionals Day." We have been celebrating this valuable group of America's workforce since 1952, and this day provides a welcome opportunity to acknowledge each and every person who is part of this team. Within USAMMDA, it goes without saying that our organization could not run effectively, or efficiently, without the hard work and dedication of our administrative professionals – they truly do keep the command moving forward, day in and day out. This specialized group remains extremely valuable to the work we do, and their efforts contribute directly to the accomplishment of our mission to protect and preserve our Service Members throughout the world. I know I speak for our entire USAMMDA family when I say "thank you" for all that you do! [Read more...]
Celebrating Our Diverse Talent
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 04/02/2018
Since 2004, April has been recognized as Celebrate Diversity Month across the nation. Recently, I commented on the historic diversity of this year's USA Olympic team, and to this list we certainly can add the tremendous diversity seen throughout the Department of Defense, MEDCOM, and our own USAMMDA team. Clearly, we live in a very diverse society, and all of us bring to the table our unique talents, knowledge and merit. In fact, our dissimilar traits are what make us so similar, and by pooling together these great minds from various backgrounds, we're able to do remarkable things for our communities, our citizens and our nation. We all have positive contributions to make to our respective teams, so we should embrace our talents and never be shy about speaking up to offer suggestions to the group. Given our organization's mission to protect and preserve our Warfighters, it remains incumbent upon all of us to be proactive always – it's critical that we do. [Read more...]
Appreciating Our Great USAMMDA Team
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 03/12/2018
I'm sure many of us are hopeful that a new Defense budget will be passed later this month, so we may continue with our great USAMMDA mission of protecting and preserving the health of our Service Members throughout the world. Our work remains very important to our national defense, and our unique, dedicated team lies at the heart of this critical effort. I'm genuinely impressed with the amount of talented individuals we have on staff, and sometimes I feel it's not very fair to the other commands. Recently, I visited a session of our Emerging Leaders program, and I was awestruck by the level of enthusiasm and engagement I saw in the classroom. This type of passion makes it very easy for me to come to work each day, and I can't thank you enough for your amazing patriotism – it truly is contagious! [Read more...]
Celebrating All Month Long
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 02/20/2018
Despite being the shortest month, February is always packed with many significant events. Each year during February, we celebrate Black History Month, Heart Health Month, Presidents Day, Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, Mardi Gras, and this year, we even have the Winter Olympic Games taking place in South Korea. As we cheer on our Olympic athletes, it's incredible to see the diversity of everyone involved in sport, not only in other countries, but especially in the United States. This year's team is the most diverse of any U.S. winter team we've ever assembled, for both gender and race - which supports our country's philosophy that we're a nation that truly celebrates its rich cultural makeup and heritage. [Read more...]
Giving of Ourselves to Help Others
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 01/29/2018
For our Officer Professional Development group this month, we've been reading a very engaging book, "Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, by Simon Sinek. What I like about the author's approach is that he asks his readers to think about why we do what we do, and this really is an important question when it comes to our vocational choices. With a mission like ours, I hope that everyone on the USAMMDA team has a clear concept of their own "why" as we come to work each day. Personally, I believe our collective "why" is that we're committed to delivering quality products to our Warfighters to keep these men and women strong before, during and after the fight. And I would think most of our USAMMDA family would agree with me on this, as it's truly an important calling. [Read more...]
New Adventures in the New Year
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 01/08/2018
At the beginning of every New Year's celebration, many people often create a list of resolutions that they intend (or, at least, hope) to keep. These usually involve diets, exercise, spending habits, restrictions, and a host of other things that we may or may not follow through with. For our USAMMDA team, however, the annual resolution is weighty, and it's always the same: How can we get life-saving medical products into the hands of our Warfighters more quickly? By the same token, our answer is always the same: "We must continually refocus our efforts to ensure we're developing the most effective solutions for our military forces, and turning these around as fast as possible." [Read more...]
We Do Great Work!
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 12/18/2017
Recently, I returned from a visit touring one of our partner organizations overseas, the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences in Thailand, and I must say the trip was a very educational and eye-opening experience. It was humbling to see the global impact of USAMMDA and the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command as we continue our development of vaccines for dengue, malaria, HIV and other illnesses. Without question, these critical programs will eventually have a global impact. Our successful results will go far beyond helping to protect our U.S. military population &endash; these will one day help to protect our world. These diseases are some of the harshest that exist today, and it's difficult to realize USAMMDA's contributions until you see exactly what we're helping to prevent. [Read more...]
Warrior Care is Job One
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 11/20/2017
Although we try to broadcast the important mission of USAMMDA to others outside of our organization, our team's dedication to the critical task of supporting our Warfighters certainly speaks for itself. Our nation marks each November as Warrior Care Month, to honor "the courage of wounded, ill or injured Service Members" and highlight "programs that support their return to duty or transition to the civilian community" – and this is where our significant work truly comes into view. [Read more...]
It's the Great Pumpkin, USAMMDA!
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 10/30/2017
With Halloween coming this week, I have to say that things are looking a little scary for my Atlanta Falcons this football season. Their game last Sunday was like something out of a horror movie, and the Patriots' Tom Brady may have well been wearing a hockey mask... But maybe this is just my own nightmare! Anyway, Halloween is here again, and our children will be out and about in their "spooky" costumes searching for the prized candy. But before they head out, please make sure to pay close attention to the common safety tips for trick-or-treating fun. The top suggestions include: 1) wear reflective clothing and carry a flashlight, 2) walk with a group if possible, 3) carry a cellphone, 4) stay on the sidewalks and use crosswalks, 5) watch for vehicles, 6) visit houses that you know, and 7) screen candy before eating it, especially unwrapped treats. [Read more...]
USAMMDA's Amazing Accomplishments
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 10/10/2017
As we kick off Fiscal Year 2018, this is the perfect time to review the many great accomplishments of our fantastic team over the past year. USAMMDA continues to lead the way by exceeding the standard in every opportunity we're presented. Similar to a cross country running team, our successes come both individually and as an organization – which has truly impacted military medicine across the board. We've won numerous awards and found great success with many of our products developed to assist and protect our Warfighters. On top of this, we've played a critical role in a number of important DOD-sponsored events, and also achieved a huge milestone in organizational safety. [Read more...]
Enjoying Autumn to the Fullest
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 09/18/2017
Another fall season starts this week, and we should all do our best to enjoy the outdoors as much as we can during the crisp, cool autumn months. The trees in our area will soon begin to change into bright colors, and it won't be long before we see frost in the morning. As it begins to get colder though, safety becomes a bigger issue, and USAMMDA's Safety Officer Marvin Saunders has provided a few tips that we should follow throughout the season. [Read more...]
Staying Healthy – and Happy
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 08/28/2017
Each year during August, we observe National Immunization Awareness Month. Unfortunately, numerous people throughout the world suffer from diseases against which they could have been protected if they received proper vaccinations. Here at USAMMDA, we're tasked with helping to protect our Warfighters to make sure they stay healthy and strong, so they'll be ready at all times. One way we do this is through the work of our Pharmaceutical Systems Project Management Office, whose efforts over the years have helped to secure critical vaccines for our troops. [Read more...]
Picking Up the Ball
By Colonel Ryan Bailey, published on 08/07/2017
Hello, Team! As I've said often since arriving back at Fort Detrick, I'm very happy to be leading such a dedicated group of men and women here at USAMMDA, and I'm just as pleased to be continuing with the blog established by COL Geesey. I certainly agree this is a great way to communicate current events, issues and information to our group and beyond. [Read more...]
A Very Appreciative Farewell
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 06/05/2017
As I begin to wrap up things during my final few weeks in command of USAMMDA, I can't help but think of the wonderful experience I've had over the past two years. The men and women who support USAMMDA are among the best and brightest I've encountered in my career, and I will certainly miss our comradery and the success we've shared together. However, I know that so much more awaits you all, and I am excited to hear about your many accomplishments in the future. [Read more...]
Memorial Day Safety and Remembrance
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 05/15/2017
As the Memorial Day holiday weekend is approaching quickly, with it comes the unofficial start of the summer season. Unfortunately, summertime is the most fatal time of the year for off-duty Soldiers, as we lose many in accidental deaths involving cars, motorcycles, water craft and alcohol-related incidents. Historically, the Memorial Day three-day weekend is the most dangerous weekend of the year to be out on our nation's roads, so we must stay safe, remain aware, and do all we can to preserve our country's most valuable asset – its citizens. [Read more...]
Protecting Ourselves and Each Other
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 04/24/2017
Each day I feel blessed to be part of an amazing organization that I now consider family. The respect that we show each other, and also those we work with, can serve as a model for everyone throughout our Army. This deference stands as a reflection of our leadership and supervisory staff, as well as our highly professional team members throughout USAMMDA who as a rule treat one another with the greatest dignity. Respecting one another remains one of the keys to happiness and success in the workplace. Unfortunately, however, there are times when this respect is breached and people are hurt. [Read more...]
Enjoying Our Wonderful World Together
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 04/04/2017
Now that the days are getting longer and the temperature continues to climb, we should be able to spend more time doing outdoor activities. With the warmer weather comes the beauty of springtime – its colorful flowers and plants, the birds chirping, and trees in full bloom all around us. Although our late winter snow did affect the cherry blossoms along Washington's Tidal Basin, they're still looking great, and you should plan a trip to see them soon if you haven't already done so. At their peak, it is a truly breathtaking sight! [Read more...]
Keeping Up with the Changing Time
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 03/13/2017
It's that time again to heed the old adage "Fall back, Spring forward" as we reset all of our clocks and watches for Daylight Savings Time, which began this past weekend. While many may enjoy the extra hours of evening sunlight and the energy that is conserved, others are just plain irritated with the way the time change affects our sleeping and eating patterns – often for about a week, or even longer. Nevertheless, we do this twice a year, year in and year out, so I thought it would be interesting to discover its origins and share this with you. [Read more...]
Guiding the Way through Innovation
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 02/13/2017
The inventors of our world spend their days looking for new and better ways to do things. Whether it's improvements to our cars, our phones, our water bottles – or one of a million other items – this proactive group of people hope to solve life's problems to make our lives easier. When it comes down to it, that's exactly what we do every day here at USAMMDA, and we have a dedicated staff of professionals whose main task is to make the lives of our nation's Warfighters better and safer. Our mission is to convert critical ideas to reality for the men and women of our military – and this certainly takes quite a lot of knowledge and just as much commitment from our entire team. [Read more...]
Strengthening Our Team through Mentorship
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 01/23/2017
Throughout the month of January, we are celebrating National Mentoring Month across the country to focus our attention on the importance of effective mentoring to help our young people develop their talents and mature as individuals. Through this outstanding program, national partners work with local leaders to organize special events within their communities, and the effort has gained the support of the President and members of Congress, as well as entertainers, sports figures and celebrities. While this work is extremely significant in helping to guide the youth of our nation, I believe we should also consider the value of mentorship at all levels, including our USAMMDA team. [Read more...]
A New Year, A New You!
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 01/03/2017
I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday season, as it was certainly well deserved after the tremendous effort our team put forth this past year in serving our nation and our Warfighters. But as always, with the end of one year comes the beginning of another – and with it, dozens of resolutions that we hope to keep throughout the year. Actually, this is the perfect time to reset ourselves and establish goals that will drive us forward into 2017. Typically, these goals are often focused on matters related to our health, family, finances, or careers, which are certainly important factors in our lives. Out of these, however, we usually have the most control over improving our personal well-being, so this is what I would like to target as we move ahead. [Read more...]
A Great Year in Military Health
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 12/19/2016
It's hard to believe that the end of the year is less than two weeks away. In light of this, now is the perfect time to review the advancements we've made throughout the past year that have helped to bolster the strength and readiness of our Servicemen and -women. Because we remain focused on our mission, we usually don't pause to celebrate the accomplishments of our fantastic USAMMDA team, along with the recognition that we receive from both leadership and other organizations. We really should do this a bit more often. Some might be surprised how we make things happen throughout our organization, and I'd like to review a few examples below. [Read more...]
Staying Safe throughout the Winter
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 12/05/2016
I hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday with their loved ones, and I really hope that no one went overboard on the wonderful treats that are typically brought out this time of year. If you did, don't worry – you may just have to visit the gym a few extra times this month, and you'll probably see me there right beside you! Nevertheless, I think we can all agree that indulging our sweet tooth a little during the holidays is usually worth the guilt. [Read more...]
Coming Together for the Holidays
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 11/14/2016
It's hard to believe just how quickly the year has passed, and that another holiday season is almost here. While most people start thinking about turkey and football games, colorful trees and wrapped presents — and even that old four-letter word, snow — the main focus of the holidays should be centered on family and friends, especially those we may see only once a year. But this season may be a little different, in light of the uneasiness that has come out of the recent presidential election campaign. Now more than ever, we should use the holidays to show our appreciation of not only our family and friends, but also of our fellow citizens in neighborhoods, towns, and workplaces across the country. Diversity is one of the hallmarks that set America apart from other countries, and this is a very special trait. We must encourage others, especially during the holiday season, to recognize that there are many different traditions and faiths throughout our nation, and we should embrace the ways in which people express these customs. [Read more...]
Conducting Our Business by the Book
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 10/21/2016
As mentioned in my last blog entry, we recently awarded a contract to develop a new searchable, electronic handbook that will improve USAMMDA's business operations well into the future, and we are very excited to roll out information on this important project during the week of October 24. As you can imagine, we utilize a multitude of processes daily within our command, but unfortunately, a good portion have not been documented properly. For those that have been recorded and archived, many are not easily accessible by the end user. Our new "Business Process Handbook" is a critical tool that will be used to document our daily business methods, which will help us to refine our performance management strategies and allow for continuous process improvement. Also, this electronic handbook will be loaded by USAMMDA into a SharePoint environment for a more effective user experience. Taken together, these advancements will help to smooth our workflow practices and assist newcomers in ramping up much more quickly. [Read more...]
Happy New Fiscal Year!
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 10/03/2016
It feels like this past year flew by, and we should be very proud of our accomplishments as we kick off the new fiscal year. Although we'll still face many of the same challenges -- funding alignment, space constraints, communication gaps, to name only a few -- this is still an exciting time for the USAMMDA team, because our mission to serve and save our Warfighters remains our daily focus. We have gained a great reputation as a high-performance, ready workforce throughout the command, and this is all due to our tremendous work in taking a critical concept and turning it into a life-saving resource for our Service Members throughout the world. [Read more...]
Presenting USAMMDA to Our New Commanding General (and the World)
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 09/13/2016
Recently, I had the great privilege of presenting our USAMMDA team to our new USAMRMC commanding general, Maj. Gen. Barbara R. Holcomb. Despite the typical "butterflies" associated with a CG visit, I actually welcome every opportunity to brag about our team and the great work we do here. Needless to say, we presented ourselves extremely well to the CG, and I was pleased with the very positive response I received from her after the visit. The most enlightening point of the day, however, was her candid take on the mission of USAMRMC and USAMMDA as well. She admitted to not knowing much about our command and its mission before coming here, and she said that this was true of five previous USAMRMC commanders she consulted after she learned of her assignment to Fort Detrick. Not surprisingly, this seems to be the case throughout the DOD and elsewhere, and it touches upon one of the main initiatives in our draft Strategic Plan for USAMMDA. [Read more...]
Six Questions To Ask Ourselves
By LTC David Johnston, published on 08/25/2016
Greetings, USAMMDA!
You may have noticed two new Army lieutenant colonels in the Office of the Commander recently. Col. Geesey brought me and Lt. Col. Mitchell Woodberry here to be the deputy commander and the executive officer, respectively. This was very purposeful with the intent the executive officer will manage the daily operational tasks of the Office of the Commander–responsibilities such as facility coordination actions, logistics, rosters, etc. We are fortunate to have on board Woodberry who is pro-active, thorough and helpful. So with Woodberry's excellent talent on board, the role of the deputy will change to some extent. My portfolio adds shepherding the strategic initiatives for the commander. As such, I will start with some strategic, shall I say metaphysical, thoughts… [Read more...]
A Review with the Future in Mind
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 07/25/2016
As I reflect over the past year here at the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity, I'm impressed by all that we've accomplished, together, as one team. I came here knowing there was a lot on USAMMDA's plate, and that a positive attitude would help get the job done. And it has. The smiley face ☺ we use in our emails should be seen as a lifestyle, because it really is all about enjoying your job and having a positive attitude. Without this, nothing else will work. I've learned over the years that exceptional results require exceptional teams, and this is certainly what we have here at USAMMDA, and I am very thankful for the group of people I get to work with every day. You truly put that smile on my face! [Read more...]
USAMMDA's Excellent PMO Teams
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 07/11/2016
I hope that everyone has been able to get out and enjoy all that summer brings; whether it be the craziness of following your children's sports teams all over Maryland or the glory of being able to lie lazily by the pool. [Read more...]
Hail and Farewell, the Deputy Commander Dance
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 06/20/2016
As the summer months roll in, we are counting down the final few days with our current Deputy Commander, Lt. Col. Michael Ingram. The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity will be saying a fond farewell to Ingram and we will be welcoming Lt. Col. David Johnston as our new Deputy Commander. [Read more...]
Truck Crashes Due To Tooth Extraction
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 06/13/2016
Near Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2015, a tractor-trailer crashed due to the trucker being distracted. His tooth was causing him tremendous pain, so he took both hands off the wheel and extracted the offending tooth! The tooth was found in his shirt pocket. [Read more...]
Moving Out, Moving In and Making Moving Easier
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 05/16/2016
Summer brings many things to look forward to; baseball, sunshine filled bike rides, beaches and many more activities, but, for the Army, it also brings "permanent change of station" season for our personnel. U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity is no different as we say good-bye to five team members and hello to six new team members in the upcoming months. [Read more...]
USAMMDA Strategic View
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 04/19/2016
Leaders from throughout the command met to discuss the U.S. Army Medical Material Development Activity's future strategic plan on March 31. Over the last three months, we have been reviewing other organization's strategic plans within the Military Health System, and have been preparing for our strategic plan development. We identified four major initiatives and the work has begun to shape these initiatives, develop objectives and measurable metrics. A draft strategic plan will be published in the next 30 days. Our current plan is to roll out the final product this fall during a stakeholder event. Work on these initiatives and subordinate tasks will begin immediately and in many cases are continuation of tasks we have already been doing. [Read more...]
USAMMDA Aces IG Inspection
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 04/06/2016
Important success factors in any organization are good education and counseling; and, I am pleased to report that U. S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity (USAMMDA) staff is enjoying the best of both. [Read more...]
Awards & Recognitions
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 10/26/2015
October has been a busy month at USAMMDA. On October 8th, I had the honor of traveling to the Pentagon with a small team from USAMMDA and USAMRMC to celebrate as one of our own and my Deputy Commander for Acquisition, Ms. Kathy Berst, was presented with the Department of Defense's Distinguished Civilian Service Award for her leadership skills and significant accomplishments over the past five years. Among those accomplishments, she saved the DOD from making a $1.2 billion investment by showing the mission could be achieved with other methods and she was hand-selected by senior leaders to address the highest demand and priority challenges facing medical product development. [Read more...]
Medical Product Research and Development Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity Award
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 09/29/2015
One of the Key Performance Parameters for many of our medical products at USAMMDA is U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Moving medical products through the FDA is a process - it is lengthy and time consuming. It is our mission to develop and deliver quality medical solutions to protect, treat, and sustain the health of our Service Members. Therefore, we strive to deliver these medical solutions as quickly and efficiently as possible. [Read more...]
USAMMDA Welcomes New Commander - Col. William Geesey
By Colonel William E. Geesey, published on 08/04/2015
Several weeks ago, I had the honor and privilege of joining the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity's team. In that time, I have observed that USAMMDA is a high performing organization that takes great pride in our mission. USAMMDA has a long history of significant contributions to protecting, treating, and sustaining the health and welfare of America's Service Members. I am excited to be a part of that history, to grow in the present and participate in what we will deliver in the future. [Read more...]