Col. Lidia Stana Ilcus is the Command Surgeon, United States Space Command, headquartered at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. In this capacity, she advises the USSPACECOM combatant commander and the command’s senior staff on all aspects of Joint Health Service decision-making in support of the Unified Combatant Command’s 18,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians and Civilians and their mission to deter conflict, defend U.S. national interests and, if necessary, defeat adversaries across the multidimensional Space domain. Focused on space-enabled combat effective joint warfighters Colonel Ilcus also leads the team that develops and implements medical plans, programs and policies in support of global DoD Human Space Flight Support operations.
Col. Ilcus is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Division of Global Health, Department of Preventive Medicine and Biostatistics, Uniformed Services University. She was a medical group commander and three-time squadron commander. And fellowship trained in Critical Care Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, she has been a published (including NASA tech reports), Board certified Internal Medicine, Aerospace Medicine and Occupational Medicine Physician, and Certified Physician Executive with a master’s degree in public health.
Col. Ilcus joined the USAF after 9/11, having been a Doctors Without Borders field physician and having been an Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine/Critical Care, as well as medical director of a primary care clinic that she helped create, for the under-served of Harris County, Texas.
As an operational senior flight surgeon, Col. Ilcus has supported contingency aeromedical staging facility operations, casualty evacuation, base medical operations, aeromedical evacuation, three space shuttle and two space station missions. She has deployed five times, including to Iraq and Afghanistan and served as the Expeditionary Special Operations Group Surgeon and Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component Surgeon in support of Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM, logging over 250 military flight hours in 16 airframes (59 combat flying hours and 22 combat support hours).
EDUCATION
1987 Bachelor of Science in Biology, cum laude, Wake Forest University, N.C.
1992 Doctor of Medicine, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Fla.
1995 Residency in Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
1996 Chief Medical Resident, Internal Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
1999 Fellowship, Critical Care Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md.
2002 Aerospace Medicine Primary Course, Distinguished graduate, USAFSAM, Brooks, Air Force Base, Texas
2009 Air War College, Excellent Graduate, by correspondence
2012 Masters of Public Health, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.
2013 Residency in Aerospace Medicine, USAFSAM, WPAFB, Ohio
2014 Joint Senior Medical Leader Course, Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
2015 American College of Physician Executives Certification, Miami, Fla.
2015 Army Medical Department Executive Skills Course, Ft. Sam Houston, Texas
2015 Intermediate Executive Skills Course, San Antonio, Texas
2017 Combined Senior Leadership Course, Falls Church, Va.
2018 Interagency Institute for Federal Healthcare Executives, Bethesda, Md.
2021 Joint Medical Executive Skills Institute Capstone for Military Health System Leaders, virtual
ASSIGNMENTS
1. November 2002 - March 2005, Squadron Medical Element Flight Surgeon, McConnell AFB, Kan. (June-November 2023, Flight Surgeon, Senior Medical Officer, 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, 40th Air Expeditionary Group, British Indian Ocean Territory) (May-September 2004, Flight Surgeon, 332d Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility, Balad Air Base, Iraq)
2. March 2005 - March 2007, Special Operations Forces Medical Element, Hurlburt Field, Fla. (September-December 2005, Special Operations Flight Surgeon, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, Bagram, Afghanistan) (January-March 2006, Group Surgeon, 816th Expeditionary Group, Ali Al Salem, Kuwait) (July-October 2006, Air Component Surgeon, Combined Joint Special Operations Air Component, Balad Air Base Iraq)
3. March 2007 - March 2009, USAF-NASA Aerospace Medicine Liaison Officer, NASA/JSC, Houston, Texas (August 2008, Flight Surgeon, Star City, Russia)
4. March 2009 - March 2011, Commander, 377th Medical Operations Squadron, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
5. July 2011 - July 2012, Student, Master of Public Health, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, Md.
6. July 2012 - July 2013, Resident, Aerospace Medicine, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio
7. July 2013 - July 2015, Commander, 2nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La.
8. August 2015 - June 2017, Commander, 633rd Medical Operations Squadron, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
9. June 2017 - February 2018, Chief of Medical Staff, Brooke Army Medical Center, Ft Sam Houston, Texas
10. March 2018 - June 2020, Chief of Aerospace Medicine Division, Headquarters Air Education and Training Command / Chief of Aerospace Medicine, JBSA-Randolph AFB, Texas
11. June 2020 - June 2022, Commander, 71st Medical Group, Vance AFB, Okla.
12. July 2022 - June 2025, Deputy Director, USSF Medical Operations Directorate and USSF Chief of Aerospace Medicine Operations and Policy, Office of the Air Force Surgeon General, Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
13. June 2022- Present, Command Surgeon, United States Space Command, Colorado Springs, Colo.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Senior Flight Surgeon
Flight hours: more than 250, including 59 combat flying hours and 22 combat support hours.
Aircraft flown: T-6A, T-38C/N, T-1A, C-17A, KC-135R/T, C-130E, AC-130U, MC-130E/H/P, MH-47D/E, UH-60A, VC-11A, C-141B, G2 Shuttle Training Aircraft, NASA C-9B Weightless Wonder
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with seven oak leaf clusters
Air and Space Commendation Medal
Joint Service Achievement Medal
Air and Space Achievement Medal
Meritorious Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters
AF Outstanding Unit Award with "V" device and five oak leaf clusters
Combat Readiness Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Afghanistan Campaign Service Medal with service star device
Iraq Campaign Medal with two service star devices
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border and four oak leaf clusters
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
2010 Building Stronger Female Physicians Leaders in the Military Health System, USAF (junior) winner
2021 Brigadier General Wilma Vaught Visionary Leadership Award, AETC officer category winner
NASA SEI HY4
Excellence in Clinical or Academic Teaching-Level II SEI HMF
International Health-Enabled SEI H8B
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Lieutenant Colonel December 30, 2006
Colonel December 30, 2012
(Current as of June 2025)