BOSTON: Retired USAR Major General Jonathan Woodson, MD, MSS, FACS, MG, MC, renowned for his significant contributions to both military and civilian surgical care, was honored with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Distinguished Lifetime Military Contribution Award during the ACS Clinical Congress 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. Established by the Board of Regents in 2018, the award is selectively conferred based on merit, rather than annually.
Dr. Woodson is a quadruple-board-certified surgeon whose career has intertwined military service, surgical practice, and leadership in education. After earning his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine in New York City, Dr. Woodson completed residency training in internal medicine and general and vascular surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. He also completed fellowships in general, vascular, and critical care surgery at Waltham Weston Hospital & Medical Center in Massachusetts and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Dr. Woodson attained board certification in internal medicine, general surgery, surgical critical care, and vascular surgery. In addition, he completed a fellowship at the Health Services Research Institute of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., and later, a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
His career achievements also include several years as the Lars Anderson Professor in Management and Professor of the Practice at Boston University Questrom School of Business, with joint appointments as professor of surgery at the school of medicine and professor of health law, policy, and management at the school of public health. At Boston University, he also established and led the Institute for Health System Innovation and Policy.
At present, Dr. Woodson is the president of the Uniformed Services University (USU) of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, where he leads the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine and its associated graduate programs in the biomedical sciences, public health, nursing, dentistry, and allied health. Prior to assuming this role in 2022, Dr. Woodson was appointed as a member of the USU Board of Regents in 2016 and served as its chair from 2019 to 2021.
Dr. Woodson’s military achievements span several countries. He joined the military in 1986 as a Captain and served for 36 years, retiring as a Major General of the U.S. Army Reserve and Commander of the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Command of Pinellas Park, Florida, in 2022.
During his military career, Dr. Woodson was deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm, to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, and to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as to Kosovo. Additionally, in 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Dr. Woodson the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and Director of the Tricare Management Activity in the U.S. Department of Defense, a role he held until 2016.
Notably, Dr. Woodson is the second winner of the Distinguished Lifetime Military Contribution Award who responded to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The 2021 winner, Lieutenant General (Retired) Paul K. Carlton, MD, FACS, was present in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., at the time of the airplane crash and helped rescue three colleagues from the burning building immediately afterward. Dr. Woodson’s contribution to the rescue operation was at the World Trade Center in New York City, where he responded as a senior medical officer with the U.S. National Disaster Medical System.
In nomination materials for the Distinguished Lifetime Military Contribution Award, Board of Regents member Anton N. Sidawy, MD, MPH, FACS, wrote, “Jonathan is the ultimate officer, gentleman, and scholar. He is highly respected, transparent, and extremely thoughtful.”
When asked about the award, Dr. Woodson responded with a modesty that reflected Dr. Sidawy’s description. He said, “To think that the College would honor me with a lifetime achievement award is unexpected, and I’m very humbled by it and very honored.”
The Distinguished Lifetime Military Contribution Award was established by the ACS Board of Regents’ Honors Committee in 2018 to recognize a physician’s distinguished contributions to the advancement of military surgery. Recipients for this Award must be a physician with a demonstrated commitment to the advancement of military surgical care but are not required to be in active medical practice.
