Dr. David C. Krulak is the Director of the TRICARE Health Plan at the Defense Health Agency, Falls Church, Virginia. As the Director, he is responsible for programmatic, operational, and policy matters pertaining to the worldwide management of TRICARE and other DHA private sector programs, managing an $18 billion budget for healthcare services covering 9.5 million beneficiaries.
Krulak is an experienced healthcare executive and strategic leader in the government and private sector. In the military, his leadership roles included serving as the Commanding Officer/CEO of the U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa, Japan; Executive Officer/COO of U.S. Naval Hospital Yokosuka, Japan; and the Director of Branch Clinics and Public Health at Naval Hospital Pensacola, Florida. In the private sector, he was the Chief Medical Officer for Healthcare Corporation of America’s Doctors Hospital of Augusta.
Krulak’s military staff tours included being the Surgeon General/CMO of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Command Surgeon for U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific. His operational tours were as Senior Medical Officer on the USS John C. Stennis, Command Surgeon of Marine Corps Special Operations Support Group, Flight Surgeon for VMA-214, and as Tactical Systems Officer on the USS Tennessee.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Rice University; a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University; a Master of Business Administration from Oklahoma State University; and a Doctor of Medicine from Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland.
He completed a residency in family medicine at the Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and in aerospace medicine at the Naval Operational Medical Institute in Florida. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Among other awards and recognition, Krulak is the recipient of the Defense Superior Service medal, two Legion of Merit medals, five Meritorious Service medals, three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medals, a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medal, and the Public Health Service Unit Commendation. His qualifications include Gold Submarine Dolphins, Naval Flight Surgeon Wings, Fleet Marine Force Qualified Officer Pin, Surface Warfare Medical Department Officer Pin, Basic Parachutist Wings, and Strategic Deterrent Patrol Pin (five awards).