Ward Casscells .s MD

S. Ward was widely credited with turning around DoD's struggling health and education system, which included 137,000 employees and 10 million patients in 900 clinics and hospitals in 100 countries. When he left, the system was ranked No. 1 in surveys of patient satisfaction. For this work, he was awarded the DoD's highest civilian award, the Distinguished Public Service Medal; the Surgeon General's Medallion from the Department of Health and Human Services; the Army's Decoration for Distinguished Civilian Service; and the Order of Military Medical Merit.

Dr. Casscells, who also was a U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps colonel, served a three-month tour of duty in Iraq in 2006. There, he served as liaison to the U.S. ambassador to Iraq and the Iraqi health minister to create a protocol for health policy and medical administration in the region. While serving in Iraq, Dr. Casscells received the Joint Service Commendation Medal.