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Air Force Veteran Helped Establish New Defense Health Agency

  • Published
  • By Sandra Lea Abrams
  • Health.mil
FALLS CHURCH, Va., --  Tucked away down a short hallway on the third floor of the Defense Health Headquarters in Falls Church, Va., is an office known as "The Museum."

Inside, it is full of artifacts from the 30-year military career of Rebecca Russell, now the acting Chief Human Capital Officer for the Military Health System. Her job is to advise senior leaders on personnel policy. Russell served in the Air Force Nurse Corps and rose to the rank of colonel before retiring in 2008. Making the transition from service member to civilian took some adjusting.

"I had to learn how to walk in heels because I had been in combat boots for a long, long time," Russell said.

Reminders from her service days fill the compact office. Against the wall just beyond the door is a two- foot long glass case filled with coins, pins and other awards she has received throughout her military career.

For Russell, the oldest of three, joining the Air Force in 1978 was a natural choice. Her father was a two star Air Force general. Photos of him at her commissioning and her retirement ceremonies are prominently displayed in her office. But it wasn't until after she received her nursing degree from Louisiana State University and had worked for several years that she decided to join the military. It turned out to be right move.

"My years in the Air Force gave me invaluable experience not only in my own career, but also in opening up different careers for me -- the people I have met and the relationships that I have made. It has paid off while [my military career] was happening, and it has paid off every day since," she said.

One item hanging on her filing cabinet is her nursing apron complete with name tag, which may seem odd since Russell wasn't particularly keen on the profession at first.

"I don't know why I became a nurse. I didn't particularly love it until I got into critical care," Russell said. "I found my niche in caring for critical patients, using advanced technologies and figuring out the complexities of those patients."

Finding her niche helped advance her career. While stationed at Altus Air Force Base in Okla., she broke new ground, becoming the first nurse to serve as a commander in charge of an aeromedicine squadron. It was the first of many leadership positions for Russell. By the time she retired from the Air Force, she was director of Medical Force Development for the Military Health System.

Her training to become a leader was mostly on the job. "I ... learned by watching others, by seeking mentors and [also] by attending classes," she said.

As part of her current role at the Military Health System, Russell helped establish the new Defense Health Agency, a combat support agency. It is tasked with delivering improved health care, safety and outcomes to the military's 9.6 million uniformed service members, retirees, reservists and their families.

The agency, which opened Oct. 1, represents the future of military medicine, Russell said. It "will forever change the way we operate ... By bringing the shared [administrative] services together and streamlining our processes, we'll be an integrated Military Health System delivering a continuum of [care] for our beneficiaries. This system will be accountable for health outcomes and cost while supporting warfighter requirements. This is our strategic vision."

Getting to be in on the ground floor was exciting, she added. "It has been a thrill for me to be part of all the strategic planning."

This wasn't the first time that Russell helped launch a joint military operation. While still in the Air Force, she was part of the team that created the Military Education and Training Campus at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio in 2005. "I got to know the culture of the Navy and the Army," she said.

Family photos on her bookcase reveal her off-duty life with her husband, a retired Air Force Medical Service Corps officer, and two children, now both young adults. Along the way, she got a master of science degree in management. Russell said her husband retired (as a colonel) 10 years before she did. "He got to become the dependent who traveled around with the active duty member."

Russell looks back on her Air Force days with fond memories. "What I enjoyed about being in the military and military medicine was the collaboration between the nurses, the residents and the interns because we all worked together for the better of the patient."