Dr. West is a retired Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army, the 44th Surgeon General of the U.S. Army and the former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Medical Command. Previously, she served as Joint Staff Surgeon at the Pentagon, where she acted as chief medical advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and coordinated all related health services issues, including operational medicine, force health protection and readiness within the military. Dr. West has served in combat deployment, as well as in leadership positions in multiple hospitals, both in the United States and abroad. She is the recipient of numerous U.S. military awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit with three Oak Leaf Clusters. She has served as an independent director of Nucor Corporation since 2019 and Johnson & Johnson since 2020. Dr. West has served as a trustee on the Board of the National Recreation Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the role of recreation as a positive force in improving the quality of life of youth, since 2019. Dr. West is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy and earned her medical degree from The George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. She has completed residencies in both family medicine and dermatology.