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Maj. Gen. Jonathan Woodson

Commanding General

Major General Jonathan Woodson assumed duty as Army Reserve Medical Command Commanding General on March 31, 2019, following his previous assignment as 3rd Medical Command Deputy Commanding General.

A native of New York City, Major General Woodson is a graduate of the City College of New York and the New York University School of Medicine. He received his postgraduate medical education at the Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School and completed residency training in Internal Medicine, General, and Vascular Surgery. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, and Critical Care Surgery. Additionally, he holds a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

Major General Woodson has served in a variety of assignments from the tactical level through Corps which include Commander of the 399th Combat Support Hospital, 330th Medical Brigade, and 804th Medical Brigade, Deputy Commander for the Army Reserve Medical Command, and assignment as the Assistant Surgeon General for Reserve Affairs, Force Structure, and Mobilization. His operational deployments include Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. Additionally, Major General Woodson deployed to Kosovo as a part of Task Force Medical Falcon IV.

In his civilian capacity, Major General Woodson is the Larz Anderson Professor in Management and Professor of the Practice at the Boston University Questrom School of Business; Professor of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine; and Professor of Health Law, Policy and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. He is also Director of the university-wide Institute for Health System Innovation and Policy. From 2010-2016, following his appointment by President Barack Obama, he served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense (ASD) for Health Affairs for the United States Department of Defense. In this role, he served as the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense for all health and force health protection-related issues and ensured the effective execution of the Department of Defense’s medical mission. His organization provided and maintained medical readiness for the medical services including and during military operations, those held in control of the military services, and those entitled to Tricare. He exercised authority, direction, and control over the Defense Health Program ($50+ billion), Defense Health Agency, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute, Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, and the Tricare Health Plan serving 9.5 million beneficiaries. During his tenure, MG Woodson led the Military Health System through the most significant transformation in 5 decades. For this work, he was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal (highest award given by DoD). While serving as ASD, MG Woodson co-Chaired several Presidential Commissions’ and Delegations. In 2015 he was named one of the most influential medical policy leaders in Washington (Executive Mosaic) and in 2016 one of the Top 25 minority executives in health care (Modern Health). In 2017, the George Washington Milken Institute and School of Public Health and Black Doctors.Org named him one of the top African Americans in healthcare. Additionally, Savoy Magazine named him to their list of Heroes in Medicine.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters), NATO Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Expert Field Medical Badge, Flight Surgeon Badge, and the Air Assault Badge.