By Major General Gar S. Graham, USAF DC (ret)
STARRS Board of Advisors
Twenty-five years ago I was TDY at Stone Mountain in Georgia hosting a seminar for 180 Air Force medics from bases across the globe.
As we opened the meeting, an NCO took me aside to a TV to see the horrific images from New York City. At that moment, along with the whole country, our entire focus shifted.
Anticipating the need to quickly return to our individual units and families, NCOs rounded up additional rental vehicles. Soon carpools headed out all over the country. Eventually I departed to return to Washington DC. Traffic was very sparse and contrails were absent.
That day became for my generation what the Pearl Harbor attack was for my parents’ generation. The assault on our homeland provided moral clarity regarding the enemy in the oath taken multiple times: “I do solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
And now? Our country has dramatically drifted from the clarity of those days uniting the country in the aftermath of the destruction.
What’s next?
Paul Mauro, former NYPD inspector, recently pointed out: “The further we get from 9/11, the closer we get to 9/10.” Will we be ready?
STARRS Board of Advisors member Major General Gar S. Graham, USAF DC (ret) commanded at the medical squadron, medical group and medical wing levels and was the Command Surgeon for Air Force Space Command and later the Air Force District of Washington.
He served as the Assistant AF Surgeon General for Plans and Programs and later as the Assistant AF Surgeon General for Dental Services while the AF Medical Component Commander, Joint Task Force National Capital Region (JTF-NCR). He oversaw efforts to optimize AF primary health care delivery and participated in DoD-wide resourcing as the Surgeon General’s representative on the AF Corporate Board, allowing him opportunities to dive into the requirements and resourcing processes within DoD while retaining a clinician’s eye and heart.
Dr Graham was responsible for hosting the AF Aero Medical Staging Facility receiving CENTCOM casualties to CONUS, commanded AF medical operations in locations throughout the NCR, and led the global operations of the AF Dental Service.
He has a DDS degree from the University of Minnesota and an MS degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and is board certified in two dental specialties. General Graham has published in scientific journals and taught extensively on clinical issues, health care management, and information management.
He collaborated with Dr Chip Rice, then President of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, to establish the Air Force Postgraduate Dental School, Lackland AFB, Texas. This was accomplished using existing AFDS & USU assets.
Leave a Comment