DHA is a Combat Support Agency

Health Facilities Architect with the Defense Health Agency Resource Management (J-8) Financial Operations Division in Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas

Brown directed medical facility planning for a critical bomber bed down, validating clinical capacity and avoiding unnecessary construction costs. He spearheaded vital pharmacy upgrades and advanced essential hospital repairs at multiple military medical centers, ensuring world-class patient care environments.

Dental Hygienist at 354th Medical Group in Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska

Castaneda leads complex prevention programs that sustain dental readiness and reduce the need for emergency dental care.

Mental Health Technician at 22nd Medical Group Mental Health Clinic in McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas

Carey drives warfighter medical readiness across the 22nd Medical Group Mental Health Clinic. As acting family advocacy program administrator, she expertly managed Central Registry Boards and safeguarded domestic stability and deployment readiness. She consistently performed at a noncommissioned officer level, filling in as the ADAPT noncommissioned officer in charge, ensuring rapid rehabilitation and return-to-duty status for warfighters while managing a patient caseload and pursuing her Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse certification. Her stellar leadership and tactical execution were proven under pressure during a high-tempo, deployment-readiness wing exercise where her performance in simulating real-world contingency operations earned her a personal coin from a group chief and a Superior Performance award, directly propelling her element to secure a coveted team award. Carey’s dedication, initiative, and multi-faceted support ensure McConnell's warfighters remain mentally resilient and mission ready.

Medical Logistics Customer Service Noncommissioned Officer in Charge at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center in Joint Base San Antonio, Texas

Vu leads a dedicated team, coordinating with supply custodians to ensure clinics have the resources to support personnel and beneficiaries. She also manages recalls for patient safety and oversees procurements that enable global deployments.

Population Health Nurse at Madigan Army Medical Center Puyallup Community Medical Home in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

Alicia demonstrated outstanding collaborative leadership on the clinic’s high-impact breast cancer screening performance improvement project, raising the breast cancer screening Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set metric from a baseline of 63.6% (below the 50th percentile) in March 2025 to 80.2% in March 2026, achieving the 2025 75th percentile target months ahead of schedule and significantly reducing the risk of delayed cancer diagnoses. By mobilizing clinic leadership, care coordinators, nurses, and providers to launch targeted outreach to overdue or unscreened patients, the team identified and retrieved missing civilian network results. Alicia then delivered focused staff education on using MHS GENESIS to accurately capture these reports, safeguarding the preventive health of military spouses and dependents. This effort keeps families healthy at home, preserves readiness, focus, and peace of mind for deployed active-duty warfighters and exemplifies data-driven, team-based improvement in support of warfighter readiness.

Containment Animal Care Specialist at U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Maryland

Marquez is one of the most dedicated animal care specialists operating in the biocontainment environment at USAMRIID. His expertise and professionalism are vital to ensuring the care and welfare of eight distinct animal species used in the research and development of medical countermeasures against biological threats, directly supporting the warfighter and strengthening national defense. Marquez consistently demonstrates exceptional perseverance and selflessness, embodying the values of self-sacrifice and teamwork, always ready to step in and support his team. His contributions have not only ensured the success of critical research efforts but have also set a standard of professionalism and commitment for his peers, advancing USAMRIID’s mission.

Patient Safety Consultant at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas

Donna supports readiness and wellness by fostering a culture of safety, reducing medical errors, and ensuring safe, effective care. By promoting best practices, analyzing data, and addressing system vulnerabilities she strengthens care delivery and operational success. Motivated by purpose, she views nursing as her legacy, and her passion for people as her driving force.

Civilian Nursing Officer in Charge at Fillmore U.S. Army Health Clinic – Primary Care in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania

Dedicated civilian nursing leadership is a force multiplier for the Defense Health Agency. By combining hands-on patient care with proactive administrative improvements, leaders like Heather directly sustain and enhance warfighter medical readiness at the clinic level. Heather is deeply committed to clinical excellence and exemplifies the caring and compassionate dedication required to support DHA’s mission. She actively seeks out innovative ways to improve medical services provided to our warfighters, retirees, and civilians.

Registered Nurse at General Leonard Wood Community Hospital in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Krystal is an extraordinary nurse, mentor, and leader, consistently fostering a positive and cohesive environment across the medical facility by celebrating the healthcare workforce. She played a vital role in advancing clinical excellence by expanding the responsibilities of charge nurses and mentoring future leaders directly at the bedside. She also helped organize the inaugural hospital appreciation week to support her colleagues.

Chief, Combat Support Agency Integration & Innovation with the Defense Health Agency Program Executive Office Medical Systems/Chief Information Officer in Falls Church, Virginia

Arencibia championed DHA’s participation in joint exercises Bold Quest ‘25 and Ultimate Caduceus ‘25, showcasing DHA priorities across the planning spectrum and in a United States Transportation Command joint patient movement exercise.

Forensic Administrator at Armed Forces Medical Examiner System in Dover, Delaware

Marbellagas’ proactive efforts and unwavering dedication continue to be instrumental in sustaining seamless pay and personnel entitlements for Navy warfighters assigned worldwide. Displaying exceptional versatility, he maintained peak technical proficiency in support of the Defense Health Agency Navy Element while performing critical primary forensic administration duties in support of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System. His unselfish dedication to professional growth and mission accomplishment reflects great credit upon himself and is in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Navy.

Chief Health Informatics Officer at Defense Health Network East in Fort Belvoir, Virginia

Sevgin's leadership of the Core15 Virtual Occupational Health Initiative directly enhances warfighter medical readiness by establishing a scalable virtual care model that mitigates occupational health provider shortages across Defense Health Network East. By designing and implementing the first standardized virtual occupational health examination workflow linking geographically dispersed military hospitals and clinics, she enabled seamless access to specialized occupational health services for service members at remote locations. Her innovative tele presenter-supported approach ensures that warfighters receive timely occupational health assessments and preventive care, reducing deployment delays and maintaining readiness.

Senior Data Quality AST Lead at Defense Health Network East in Fort Benning, Georgia

Veronica supports warfighter medical readiness by ensuring data integrity and accuracy through her expert coding and database management capabilities. Her ability to define, extract, and manipulate complex data from management information systems enables precise performance tracking and reporting that directly informs operational decision-making and resource allocation for patient care delivery. By resolving high-level issues, providing actionable feedback, and developing comprehensive after action reports, she strengthens Defense Health Network East's ability to identify and address operational gaps that could impact medical readiness. Her consistent application of coding and compliance principles ensures that critical healthcare data remains accurate, accessible, and reliable for supporting both peacetime medical operations and deployment readiness requirements.