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Nadja West

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Nadja Y. West
Born (1961-03-20) March 20, 1961 (age 63)
Washington, D.C., United States
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchUnited States Army
Years of service1982–2019
RankLieutenant General
CommandsSurgeon General of the United States Army
United States Army Medical Command
Europe Regional Medical Command[1]
Womack Army Medical Center
McDonald Army Community Hospital
Battles / warsGulf War
AwardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (4)
Alma materUnited States Military Academy (BS)
George Washington University School of Medicine (MD)

Nadja Yudith West (née Grammer; March 20, 1961)[2] is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and the 44th Surgeon General of the United States Army and former Commanding General of the United States Army Medical Command. West, a physician, was the first black Army Surgeon General, and was the first black female active-duty major general and the first black female major general in Army Medicine.[3][4] West is also the first Army black female lieutenant general.[5] She is the highest ranking woman to have graduated from the United States Military Academy.

Early life and education

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West was an orphan but was adopted at two years old into a family in the District of Columbia with eleven other adopted children total.[6] Her adoptive parents were Mabel (née Treadwell) and Oscar Grammer. Her father was a career soldier and her mother was a journalist and founder of the "Brown Baby Plan", arranging adoptions of mixed German and African American children following the US military presence in Germany during and after the Second World War.[7][8] She graduated high school at the Academy of the Holy Names in Silver Spring, Maryland.[9] In 1982, West obtained a Bachelor's degree in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point,[10] and a Doctorate of Medicine from George Washington University School of Medicine in 1988.[11]

Career

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West's historic promotion to be the second black female major general took place on April 19, 2013. Of her promotion, West said, "I never really thought about that part. My parents taught me to work hard and be the best I can be and things will work out. I’m just really honored. If anything at all, I hope I can be an inspiration to any one or any group that has not seen themselves in certain positions. We all want to see people who look like us doing certain things to give us inspiration. Hopefully, I can inspire someone to be able to say, 'I can do that.'"[4]

She has claimed an early, positive influence was seeing a black, female character (Uhura) on the bridge of Star Trek's USS Enterprise (NCC-1701).[12]

On December 11, 2015, the Senate confirmed the nomination of West to be promoted to lieutenant general[13] and she became the 44th Army Surgeon General. This made West the Army's first black Surgeon General, as well as the Army's first black woman to hold the rank of lieutenant general and the Army's highest ranking woman who graduated from the United States Military Academy.[14][15] Lt. Gen. West was promoted on February 9, 2016, and formally assumed command of MEDCOM on February 10, 2016.[5][16]

West completed her Family Medicine internship and residency at Martin Army Hospital. She deployed during Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield while assigned there. West finished her residency in dermatology at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center and University of Colorado Medical Center. She was Chief, Dermatology Service at Heidelberg Army Hospital in Germany.[3] West obtained a Master of Science in National Security Strategy. Of her military medical career, West says, "If you want to feel inspired about what military medicine does, see how appreciative these men and women are for the care they’ve received. It’s right here. It’s the reason the military health system exists: to take care of brave men and women like them."[10]

West's previous command positions include Commanding General, Europe Regional Medical Command; Commander, Womack Army Medical Center; and Division Surgeon, 1st Armored Division, Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany. West was Joint Staff Surgeon, Joint Staff, Washington.

West is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Johnson & Johnson announced on December 3, 2020,[17] that West has been appointed to its board of directors effective immediately. West will serve as a member of the Board's Science, Technology & Sustainability Committee, effective as of January 1, 2021. As a non-employee director of the company, West will receive compensation as described in the “Director Compensation” section of the company's 2020 Proxy Statement. In April 2022, West was appointed to the Board of Visitors of the United States Military Academy.[18]

Personal life

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West is a Roman Catholic.[19]

Awards and recognitions

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Left breast

Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Combat Medical Badge
Basic Flight Surgeon Badge
Army Distinguished Service Medal
with one bronze oak leaf cluster[20] 		Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
with three oak leaf clusters 		Defense Meritorious Service Medal Meritorious Service Medal
with two oak leaf clusters[20]
Army Commendation Medal[20] Army Achievement Medal
with two oak leaf clusters[20] 		National Defense Service Medal
with one bronze service star
Southwest Asia Service Medal
with three service stars 		Kosovo Campaign Medal
with one service star 		Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Korea Defense Service Medal Army Service Ribbon Army Overseas Service Ribbon
with award numeral 4
NATO Medal
for the former Yugoslavia[21] 		Kuwait Liberation Medal
(Saudi Arabia) 		Kuwait Liberation Medal
(Kuwait)
Parachutist Badge Air Assault Badge
Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge Army Staff Identification Badge

Right breast

Army Medical Department (AMEDD)
Distinctive unit insignia
German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency in Gold
Joint Meritorious Unit Award Navy Unit Commendation
24th Infantry Division CSIB
  • In 2017, the American Legion of Honor Society awarded West with the "Four Chaplains Gold Medallion" award.

References

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  1. ^ "Maj. Gen. Nadja Y. West Joint Chiefs of Staff Article View". www.jcs.mil. Joint Chiefs of Staff. Archived from the original on 15 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  2. ^ "Register of Graduates and Former Cadets of the United States Military Academy". 1991.
  3. ^ a b "Maj. Gen. Nadja West was the first African American female Major General of the Army's active component and Army Medicine's first African-American female two-star general". www.army.mil. U.S. Army. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b JNSMA. "Army Medicine's First African American Female Two-Star General &#124 JSNMA". www.JNSMA.org. JNSMA. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  5. ^ a b Estrada, Sheryl (10 February 2016). "First Black Woman Promoted to Three-Star Army General". DiversityInc.com. DiversityInc. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  6. ^ Bash, Dana. "How a 3-star general overcame self-doubt". CNN. Retrieved 2017-06-18.
  7. ^ "Overlooked No More: Mabel Grammer, Whose Brown Baby Plan Found Homes for Hundreds". The New York Times. 2019-02-06. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  8. ^ Bryant, Adam (2017-06-30). "Lt. Gen. Nadja Y. West on the Power of Empathy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
  9. ^ "West sworn in as Army surgeon general". Army.mil. ARNEWS/MEDCOM. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
  10. ^ a b Hubing, Kristin. "Major Medical | Medicine + Health". Medicine + Health. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  11. ^ "Dr. Nadja West, MD – Bethesda, MD – Family Medicine & Dermatology | Healthgrades". Health Grades. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
  12. ^ The Army's first black, female 3-star was inspired to serve by her father — and Star Trek, Meghann Myers, ArmyTimes.com, 2017-02-27
  13. ^ Tolleson, Maria. "Maj. Gen. Nadja West confirmed as 44th Army Surgeon General | The United States Army". www.army.mil. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  14. ^ "Lt. Gen. Nadja West Confirmed by Senate as First Black Army Surgeon General". GOOD BLACK NEWS. 19 December 2015.
  15. ^ "Lt. Gen. Nadja West Confirmed by Senate as First Black Army Surgeon General". EURweb. 26 December 2015.
  16. ^ U.S. Army Medical Command. "DVIDS – Video – U.S. Army Medical Command Assumption of Command". DVIDS. Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
  17. ^ "Inline XBRL Viewer". www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  18. ^ President Biden Announces Appointments to Air Force and Military Academy Boards | April 22, 2022
  19. ^ "Army Surgeon General Nadja West at St. Dominic's Church". dominicanfriars.org. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  20. ^ a b c d "General Officer Management Office". www.gomo.army.mil. GOMO. Retrieved 16 December 2015.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "Maj. Gen. Nadja y. West > Joint Chiefs of Staff > Article View". Archived from the original on 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
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Military offices
Preceded by Surgeon General of the United States Army
December 11, 2015 – August 2019 		Succeeded by
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