Welcome to the U.S. Army Medical Department

The U.S. Army Medical Department was formed on July 27, 1775, when the Continental Congress authorized a Medical Service for an army of 20,000 men. It created the Hospital Department and named Dr. Benjamin Church of Boston Director General and Chief Physician. On 14 April 1818, Congress passed an Act which reorganized the staff departments of the Army. The Act provided a Medical Department to be headed by a Surgeon General. Dr. Joseph Lovell, appointed Surgeon General of the United States Army in April 1818, was the first to hold this position in the new organization. The passage of this law marks the beginning of the modern Medical Department of the United States Army.

For much of the Army’s history, the regiment was a tactical as well as an administrative and ceremonial organization. Still, in the late 1950s, the Army reorganized its regiments to meet the requirements of highly mobile warfare with significantly increased firepower and high casualty rates. Between 1957 and 1959, the Army eliminated the regimental headquarters as a tactical and administrative organization from most of its combat arms regiments (except some cavalry regiments). In the following reorganization, some Army units lost their identity, lineage, and history. This loss did not go unnoticed, and the U.S. Army Regimental System was created in 1981 to provide soldiers with continuous identification with a single regiment. In 1984, the Combat Arms Regimental System was expanded to include the non-combat arms branches under the “whole-branch” concept in which the entire branch is provided a regimental-model historical bond.

The U.S. Army Medical Department Regiment was activated on July 28, 1986, during ceremonies at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, the “Home of Army medicine.” Lieutenant General Quinn H. Becker, the U.S. Army Surgeon General and AMEDD Regimental Commander, was the reviewing officer. He was joined by general officers of the U.S. Army Reserves and the Army National Guard, representing the significant contributions and manpower of the reserve forces in the Total Army concept.

The Formation of the Army Medical Department Regiment

By Robert L. Ampula
Administrative Officer, U.S. Army Medical Department Regiment

The United States Army traces its history back to the Continental Army, which was established on June 14, 1775, before the formation of the United States. More than a month later, the Continental Congress created the Army Medical Department for the Army on July 27, 1775. Although it was not called the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) then, it was undoubtedly the birth of Army Medicine. From July 1775, the Army Medical Department has embarked upon a proud journey through American history. However, it was not until 1986 that all of the heritage, history, and traditions of the Army Medical Department were encapsulated under one organization and united under one flag. That year saw the activation of the Army Medical Department Regiment. The formation of the Regiment began five years earlier, in 1981, when the United States Army Regimental System (USARS) was created under the direction of the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Edward C. Meyer. He would subsequently leave the Army before full implementation was achieved, but General John A. Wickham Jr. would continue to champion the endeavor. The original concept was created to provide each Soldier with continuous identification to a single Regiment and to support that concept with a personnel system that would increase a Soldier’s probability of serving recurring assignments with his or her Regiment. The concept encompassed the active Army, the National Guard, and the Army Reserve.

The Mission of the USARS was defined in 1986 as follows: The mission is to enhance combat effectiveness through a framework that provides the opportunity for affiliation, develops loyalty and commitment, fosters an extended sense of belonging, improves unit esprit, and institutionalizes the warfighting ethos. The concept offers the opportunity for long-term identification with a regiment or Corps, provides the potential for recurring assignments within a regiment or Corps, and also the opportunity to further emphasize the history, customs, and traditions of the Regiment or Corps. That mission remains unchanged today.

Unlike the plans for the Combat Arms, which have multiple Regiments and Corps, the plan for Combat Support (CS), Combat Service Support (CSS), and Special Branches was to integrate them fully into the USARS under the “whole branch” concept. Leaders of these organizations did not universally embrace this concept. Some have argued that the Regimental System could not be effectively integrated into CS, CSS, and Special Branches. They voiced their concerns to the Chief of Staff by pointing out that Combat Arms organizations could move together, whereas the whole branch concept precluded this option. The Chief of Staff acknowledged their concerns but directed the CS, CSS, and Special Branches to continue plans to become part of the Regimental System.

On September 5, 1985, the U.S. Army Medical Department submitted its plan to Headquarters, Department of the Army. The plan identified the Surgeon General as the Commander of the Regiment and his staff filling the positions of the Regimental Staff. The activation date was suggested for July 27, 1986, to coincide with the founding of the Army Medical Department. On January 17, 1986, the Chief of Staff approved the plan. HQDA issued General Order Number 24, dated May 30, 1986, establishing the Army Medical Department as the Army Medical Department CORPS effective July 27, 1986. It was quickly noted that the Army Medical Department was already made up of six Corps, and to name the Army Medical Department a Corps would add confusion to this new entity. HQDA rectified the situation by issuing General Order 27 on June 30, 1986, which rescinded the establishment of the Army Medical Department Corps and established the Army Medical Department Regiment effective July 27, 1986, and established the home of the Army Medical Department Regiment at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Much thought and planning went into the events surrounding the activation of the Army Medical Department Regiment. There was much excitement and enthusiasm as the activation neared. The first official event marking this historic occasion was an NCO dining-in ceremony attended by approximately 500 noncommissioned officers. On behalf of the noncommissioned officers of the Army Medical Department, CSM Howard R. Harrell, the president of the dining in and Command Sergeant Major of Health Services Command (HSC), presented a saber inscribed with the words “AMEDD Regimental Saber” to LTG Quinn H. Becker, the first commander of the AMEDD Regiment. LTG Becker, in turn, passed the saber to Sergeant Major Daniel J. Bullis, the first Sergeant Major of the Regiment. The saber then became part of the Regimental memorabilia. A solemn and inspiring event transpired the next day when newly constructed enlisted barracks were memorialized for PFC Richard G. Wilson. PFC Wilson was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions, at the cost of his life, during the Korean War. LTG Becker hosted the event, which was attended by PFC Wilson’s mother, Alice Wilson, her granddaughter, Connie Wilson, and Richard Wilson’s brother, Ronald Wilson. LTG Becker unveiled the plaque for PFC Wilson that would be displayed at the barracks. LTG Becker then read PFC Wilson’s moving Medal of Honor citation, illustrating his extraordinary bravery and devotion to his fellow Soldier. (3) Afterward, LTG Becker and Mrs Wilson cut the ribbon, dedicating Wilson Hall.

Later, there was an event at the Combat Medic Memorial, located at the future site of the Army Medical Department Museum. The Combat Medic Memorial depicts a medic rendering aid to a fallen comrade. LTG Becker and an enlisted Soldier placed a wreath to recognize and pay homage to all the medical personnel throughout our long and proud history who have given their lives so that others may live. A lone bugler played taps at the closing of the ceremony.

That evening, events shifted to the officer’s club, which was selected as the site of the first Regimental Commander’s reception. During this historic event, LTG Becker and MG retired Spurgeon H. Neel, the first commander of HSC, unveiled a plaque dedicating the Sam Houston room as the Army Medical Department Regimental Mess. The newly formed Regiment had procured a small number of the new Regimental Distinctive Insignias (RDI), and LTG Becker took this opportunity to present the first of them to MG Tracey E. Strevey Jr., the Commander of HSC, MG William P. Winkler Jr., the Commander of the Academy of Health Sciences (AHS), CSM Kramer D. Regan, AHS, and CSM Howard R. Harrell, HSC. The additional recipients were the Corps Chiefs and the Honorary Colonel of the Regiment, MG retired Spurgeon Neel, and the Honorary Sergeant Major of the Regiment, CSM retired George A. Pierce. A cake cutting ensued, and following tradition, the senior and junior officers present cut the cake. LTG Becker and LT Lindsey Brim used the new Regimental Saber to cut the Regimental cake on this festive occasion.

The morning of the activation was clear and hot, which was typical for San Antonio in July. A crowd started gathering early for the historic event. More than 4000 active duty Soldiers, retirees, and civilians were in the stands and adjacent viewing areas to see the unfurling of the Regimental colors for the first time. The event truly captured the spirit of the Regiment as the reviewing officer, LTG Quinn H. Becker, was joined on the reviewing stand by MG Julius J. Chosy, Deputy Surgeon General for Mobilization and National Guard Affairs, and BG Robert L. Wick Jr., Deputy Surgeon General for Mobilization and Reserve Affairs. After the colors were unfurled, LTG Becker presented MG Neel and CSM Pierce certificates, appointing them as the first Honorary Colonel of the Regiment and Honorary Sergeant Major of the Regiment. The ceremony ended with the 1st Cavalry Division Horse Platoon displaying their precision horsemanship. The platoon depicted the mounted cavalry in the years following the Civil War. The demonstration concluded with a cavalry charge to the delight of the spectators.

The festivities concluded at Salado Park with one of the largest picnics ever held on Fort Sam Houston. Over 5,000 faculty and students of the Academy of Health Sciences, as well as Soldiers and civilians of the Army Health Services Command, were in attendance on a combined organization day. There were sporting events, musical performers, and, of course, food and merriment.

Today, as in 1986, the Regiment stands as the one binding element that unites all members of Army Medicine under one flag. The Regiment includes all AMEDD personnel, whether active duty, Army Reserve, National Guard, or AMEDD civilian employees who elect to affiliate with the Regiment. It includes TOE and TDA personnel in the continental United States and those serving overseas, all sharing the same traditions and history. A history that starts during the War for Independence through the dark days of the Civil War, from the Meuse-Argonne offensive in the Great War to the beaches of Normandy and the Philippine Islands during WW II, enduring the bitter cold of Korea and the sweltering heat of Vietnam; from Grenada and Panama, and the liberation of Kuwait, to the continuing conflict in Afghanistan, members of the Army Medical Department have always persevered in their mission to care for the sick and wounded in order to conserve the fighting strength.