David Smith has been appointed as the acting director of the Defense Health Agency, replacing Army Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland.
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DHA Leadership Transition
In a statement, Stephen Ferrara, the acting assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, announced Smith’s designation on Friday, noting that the new appointee will hold the role while the Department of Defense “conducts the normal nomination process” for a permanent appointee to the post.
He added that Crosland retired from the service and thanked the two-time Wash100 Award winner for serving the United States for over three decades.
Ferrara described the acting DHS chief as “a steady hand with decades of experience in the military health system. “I ask everyone to support Dr. Smith and the entire DHA team as we stabilize and strengthen our system serving the most lethal fighting force on the planet,” he added.
David Smith’s DOD Career Highlights
Before his new assignment, Smith led efforts by the DOD to ensure medical readiness for U.S. service members as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for health readiness policy and oversight. Earlier, he was the chief medical adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as director of medical resources, plans and policy division on the Chief of Naval Operations staff.
Smith completed his medical degree at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and earned his master’s from the University of Cincinnati. In 1977, he received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois.
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