JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --
Since assuming command of the 79th Medical Wing in 2015, I have witnessed firsthand the incredible work being done by the more than 1,500 exceptional men and women who make up our healthcare provider workforce. Every day, our highly-trained and fully-capable Airmen and civilians execute the wing’s critical mission of providing Air Force medical services for expeditionary deployment and defense operations at home and around the world. They do so operating from the wing’s two subordinate units, 779th and 579th Medical Groups, and across four other Joint service facilities in the National Capital Region.
Due largely to our geographic location within the NCR, the 79th Medical Wing is unlike any other healthcare organization in the Air Force and Department of Defense. We are charged with meeting the healthcare needs of our nation’s top leaders; we’re home to one of the Air Force's six corneal refractive surgery centers and the North East’s only high-altitude training chamber; we operate the only aeromedical staging facility on the East Coast whose solemn purpose is to provide support and continuity of medical for movement of our nation’s injured heroes; and we support some of the Air Force and nation’s most visible and highly attended ceremonial events.
With such significant mission requirements, the 79th MDW needs to be and is a high-reliability organization whose no-fail mission places a premium on a culture of safety and the delivery of state-of-the-art, world-class medical care to military, retired service men and women, and families. While we successfully employ traditional, time-tested methods for healing injuries and treating pain, we are equally passionate about new and innovative medical solutions that are integrative and holistic.
Our values and patient care philosophy are key to our success, and our Capital Medics exceed my already high expectations each and every day! Just as recently as last year, our staff members earned a number of Air Force-level and national accolades for excellence in areas such as medical readiness, nursing, biomedicine, dental and clinical services. These accomplishments are the result of our unwavering commitment to our key tenets of Trusted Care: Leadership Engagement, Patient-Centeredness and Continuous Process Improvement.
In the coming days and weeks, we’ll publish several fascinating stories about America’s Capital Medics. I invite you to have a look and spend time learning about some our capabilities, the exciting direction military healthcare is headed and the Air Force’s medical professionals who are leading the way. I believe these stories will fill you with pride and inspire you with confidence to know that the Airmen of the 79th MDW are delivering the best trusted care anywhere.