It was reported yesterday in the Army Times that Obama has picked Jonathan Woodson to succeed Ward Cascells as DoD Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Woodson was described as associate professor of surgery and associate dean at Boston University School of Medicine as well. Woodson was reported as being assigned as assistant surgeon general for reserve affairs, force structure and mobilization in the Office of the Army Surgeon General, and as deputy commander of the Army Reserve Medical Command.

Comment: The DoD ASD/FA faces an almost insurmountable task, to try to convince senior military officials to spend money on medical care who are focused on buying bombs and guns. Cascells was a progressive thinker who established and actively maintained the first ever DoD health affairs blog and a policy of transparency. Woodson is a surgeon and his appointment comes on the heels of two widely publicized adverse outcome surgery incidents in Texas and Maryland over the past year. Let's hope Woodson brings back the blog and continues the policy of transparency to DoD Health Affairs. Congratulations to Dr. Woodson.