Profession
Texas physician selected for Defense Dept. post
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 14, 2007
S. Ward Casscells, MD, is the new assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, the Dept. of Defense announced in April. The physician, a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve, oversees leadership of the military health system and serves as the principal adviser to the secretary of defense for all department health policies and programs.
Dr. Casscells returned to the United States in December 2006 from a three-month tour of duty in Iraq, where he helped create a protocol for health policy and medical administration in the region.
He deployed to the Middle East and Asia to study avian influenza and assess the possibility of a pandemic.
Dr. Casscells received the General Maxwell Thurman Award in 2004 for his work on telemedicine and disaster medicine.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/05/14/prbf0514.htm.