WRNMMC, Bethesda, Md.  –   Women’s History Month, observed during March, honors the achievement of women, both past and present, who have helped build and mold society, culture and history. This year’s Department of Defense (DOD) theme for observance is “Women Who Have Made Great Achievements.”

Celebrating Women’s History Month, Walter Reed hosts a panel discussion on Tuesday, March 19 at noon in its Memorial Auditorium. U.S. Navy Capt. (Dr.) Melissa Austin, director of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), will moderate the discussion, which will include U.S. Army Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Deydre Teyhen, director of the Defense Health Network National Capital Region. Other panelists will include Ms. Michelle Belton, Senior Executive Service; Professor Dr. Lisa Harris, and Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Erin W. Barger, senior enlisted leader (SEL) in the Directorate of Nursing Services at Walter Reed.

At WRNMMC, and its predecessors -- National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) and Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) -- there is no shortage of women in military medical history who have made great achievements in the advancement of health care.

“[In military medicine], female pioneers devoted their lives and talents to the health of our warfighters in the face of restrictions against them, as well as today’s trailblazers who continue to serve, innovate, and inspire military health efforts worldwide,” stated Military Health System officials.
A number of these trailblazing women are serving or have served at WRNMMC and/or its predecessors, and during this month, Walter Reed celebrates some of these women, as well as those who worked and continue to work behind the scenes for their contributions to the care of those and their families who protect the nation. The journeys of those women inspire and help set the course for future generations.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Nadja West

Former Army Surgeon General, retired Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Nadja West, became the Army’s first black surgeon general Dec. 11, 2015. She was also the first black female lieutenant general in the U.S. Army, and the highest-ranking woman to graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York.

West earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering from West Point, and her medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Before becoming the 44th Army Surgeon General, one of West’s previous positions was as deputy commander for integration at the NNMC, a WRNMMC predecessor, where she became the first Army officer to join the NNMC leadership team prior to the Navy medical center joining forces with WRAMC in 2011 to become WRNMMC. In addition, during West’s 40-year Army career, she led the U.S. Department of Defense’s medical response to the 2014 West Africa Ebola crisis. She also worked as the Joint Staff Surgeon at the Pentagon, served as commanding general of Europe Regional Medical Command and commander of Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

West has said of her achievements: “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.’”

Retired Vice Adm. (Dr.) Raquel Bono

Retired Navy Vice Adm. (Dr.) Raquel Bono is also a trailblazer who served within the walls of Walter Reed. She was the first female Navy medical officer to achieve the rank of three-star admiral. She served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and director of the Defense Health Agency (DHA), established by DOD in 2013 to lead a joint, integrated support agency enabling all branches of the U.S. military medical services to provide health care services to combatant commands. She became the second person to hold this position when she assumed it in 2015 after leading the National Capital Region Medical Directorate and serving as Medical Corps chief.

Bono was commissioned in 1979, earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and a medical degree from Texas Tech University School of Medicine. Her assignments included serving as head of casualty receiving, Fleet Hospital Five in Saudi Arabia during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm; director of restorative care at NNMC; director of medical services at NNMC, executive assistant to the Navy surgeon general; and commanding officer of Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Florida.

On March 22, 2020, Bono was named by Washington State Governor Jay Inslee to lead the state health system's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho

During her 33-year Army career, retired Army Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho made history as the first woman, first nurse and non-physician to be appointed and hold for a full term, the position of Army Surgeon General and Commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command.

Prior to serving in that position, Horoho was commander of DeWitt Army Community Hospital in Fort Belvoir, Virginia (2004–2006), the Walter Reed Health Care System (WRHCS) in Washington D.C. (2007–2008), Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington (2008–2009), and Western Regional Medical Command, based in Fort Lewis, Washington (2008–2010).

Horoho earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1982 and a master’s degree in nursing as a clinical trauma nurse specialist from the University of Pittsburgh in 1992. She earned a master’s degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

She served as the head nurse of the emergency room at Womack Army Medical Center and was on the front line treating the wounded in the aftermath of the 1994 Green Ramp Disaster (Pope Air Force Base crash). She also deployed to Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy (1994 -1995) with the Army’s first Health Facility Assessment Team.

While assigned to the Pentagon as assistant deputy for health care management policy, Horoho was one of the first responders after the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001, setting up triage at the attack site.
In 2007, Horoho became the first woman and nurse to command WRHCS.

She became the 23rd chief of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps (ANC) in 2008, receiving a two-grade promotion from colonel to major general. As chief of the ANC, she additionally served as commander of Madigan Army Medical Center and Western Regional Medical Command. In 2011, she became the Army surgeon general and commander of the U.S. Army Medical Command, retiring in 2016.

She said of her efforts on 9/11 at the Pentagon, where she provided first aid to 75 victims of the terrorist attack, actions that earned her recognition as a Nurse Hero by the American Red Cross, “Being a nurse led me to the impact site where I could make a difference, instead of in the other direction where it was safe,” she said. “Nursing is an art and a profession—not a job. It’s not something you go to and leave after your shift. You are on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

The next article in this series continues to explore trailblazing women in medicine with connection to Walter Reed.