# Gale Pollock

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{{Short description|US Army Deputy Surgeon General (2006–2007)}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Gale S. Pollock
|image= Gale Pollock, Major General, military photo portrait.jpg
|image_size= 
|alt= 
|caption= Maj. Gen. Gale Pollock, RN, CRNA, BSN
|nickname= 
|birth_date= 
|birth_place= [Kearny, New Jersey](/source/Kearny%2C_New_Jersey), U.S.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://armynursecorps.amedd.army.mil/leadership/pollock.html |title=Army Nurse Corps - Major General Gale S. Pollock |access-date=2007-04-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070402062203/http://armynursecorps.amedd.army.mil/leadership/pollock.html |archive-date=2007-04-02 }}</ref>
|death_date= 
|death_place= 
|burial_place= 
|allegiance= United States
|branch= [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army)
|service_years= 
|rank= [Major General](/source/Major_general_(United_States))
|service_number= 
|unit= 
|commands= [United States Army Medical Command](/source/United_States_Army_Medical_Command)<br/>[Army Nurse Corps](/source/Nurse_Corps_(United_States_Army))<br/>[Tripler Army Medical Center](/source/Tripler_Army_Medical_Center)<br/>Martin Army Community Hospital<br/>United States Army Medical Activity, Fort Drum
|battles= 
|awards= [Army Distinguished Service Medal](/source/Army_Distinguished_Service_Medal)<br/>[Legion of Merit](/source/Legion_of_Merit) (3)
|relations= 
|other_work=
}}
'''Gale S. Pollock''' is a retired [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army) [major general](/source/Major_general_(United_States)) who served as the Deputy [Surgeon General of the United States Army](/source/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States_Army) from October 2006 to March 2007, and also as chief of the [Army Nurse Corps](/source/Nurse_Corps_(United_States_Army)). She became acting [Surgeon General of the United States Army](/source/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States_Army) for nine months following the 20 March 2007 retirement of her predecessor, [Kevin C. Kiley](/source/Kevin_C._Kiley), due to fallout from the [Walter Reed Army Medical Center neglect scandal](/source/Walter_Reed_Army_Medical_Center_neglect_scandal).<ref>[https://archive.today/20070313185134/http://www.army.mil/-newsreleases/2007/03/12/2216-army-surgeon-general-submits-retirement-request/ Army Surgeon General Submits Retirement Request<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> She was the first woman and the first non-physician to hold the position.

Pollock served in the army for more than 30 years until her retirement in 2008. She is a [Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist](/source/Certified_Registered_Nurse_Anesthetist).<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031200544_2.html Surgeon General Of Army Steps Down – washingtonpost.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> She was a Fellow at Harvard's [Advanced Leadership Initiative](/source/Harvard_University_Advanced_Leadership_Initiative) in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |last=Pollock |first=Gale |title=List of 2011 Fellows |url=http://advancedleadership.harvard.edu/2011-fellows/ |publisher=Harvard University |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523032242/http://advancedleadership.harvard.edu/2011-fellows/ |archive-date=2013-05-23 }}</ref>

==Education==
Pollock received a [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) degree in [Nursing](/source/Nursing) from the [University of Maryland, Baltimore](/source/University_of_Maryland%2C_Baltimore).  She attended the U.S. Army Nurse [Anesthesia](/source/Anesthesia) Program and is a [Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist](/source/Certified_Registered_Nurse_Anesthetist) (CRNA). She received her [Master of Business Administration](/source/Master_of_Business_Administration) from [Boston University](/source/Boston_University), a [Master of Healthcare Administration](/source/Master_of_Healthcare_Administration) from [Baylor University](/source/Baylor_University), a [Master of Science](/source/Master_of_Science) in National Security Strategy from the [National Defense University](/source/National_Defense_University_(Washington%2C_D.C.)), and an honorary [Doctorate of Public Service](/source/Doctorate_of_Public_Administration) from the [University of Maryland](/source/University_of_Maryland). She is also a Fellow at the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

Pollock's military education includes the [Department of Defense](/source/United_States_Department_of_Defense) [CAPSTONE Program](/source/CAPSTONE_Military_Leadership_Program); the Senior Service College at the [Industrial College of the Armed Forces](/source/Industrial_College_of_the_Armed_Forces); the [Air War College](/source/Air_War_College); the Interagency Institute for Federal Health Care Executives; the Military Health System CAPSTONE program; the Principles of Advanced Nurse Administrators; and the NATO Staff Officer Course.

==Military career==
Pollock's last position was Chief, United States Army Nurse Corps and Commanding General of [Tripler Army Medical Center](/source/Tripler_Army_Medical_Center) of the Pacific Regional Medical Command.  She was also Lead Agent of TRICARE Pacific in [Honolulu, Hawaii](/source/Honolulu%2C_Hawaii).

Her past military assignments include Special Assistant to the Surgeon General for Information Management and Health Policy; Commander, Martin Army Community Hospital, Fort Benning, Ga.; Commander, U.S. Army Medical Activity, Fort Drum, N.Y.; Staff Officer, Strategic Initiatives Command Group for the Army Surgeon General; Department of Defense Healthcare Advisor to the Congressional Commission on Service Members and Veterans Transition Assistance; Health Fitness Advisor at the National Defense University; Senior Policy Analyst in Health Affairs, DoD; and Chief, Anesthesia Nursing Service at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

==Awards==
Pollock's awards and decorations include the [Army Distinguished Service Medal](/source/Army_Distinguished_Service_Medal), [Legion of Merit](/source/Legion_of_Merit) (with 2 [oak leaf clusters](/source/oak_leaf_clusters)), the [Defense Meritorious Service Medal](/source/Defense_Meritorious_Service_Medal), the [Meritorious Service Medal](/source/Meritorious_Service_Medal_(United_States)) (with 4 oak leaf clusters), the [Joint Service Commendation Medal](/source/Joint_Service_Commendation_Medal), the [Army Commendation Medal](/source/Army_Commendation_Medal), and the [Army Achievement Medal](/source/Army_Achievement_Medal). She also earned the [Expert Field Medical Badge](/source/Expert_Field_Medical_Badge), and the [Parachutist Badge](/source/Parachutist_Badge_(United_States)). She received the [Army Staff Identification Badge](/source/Army_Staff_Identification_Badge) for her work at [the Pentagon](/source/the_Pentagon) and earned the [German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency](/source/German_Armed_Forces_Badge_for_Military_Proficiency) (Leistungsabzeichen) in gold.

==Criticism==
In 2007, an [ABC News](/source/ABC_News_(United_States)) piece and a story by ''[The Nation](/source/The_Nation)'' journalist Joshua Kors questioned Pollock's involvement in a brewing scandal involving [personality disorder](/source/personality_disorder) discharges from the military.<ref name=autogenerated2>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080401161310/http://www.pbs.org/now/news/veterans-benefits.html Joshua Kors on how the U.S. Army "cheats" some veterans out of their benefits<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Pollock released a memo claiming that her office had conducted a careful review of a series of personality disorder discharges from [Fort Carson, Colorado](/source/Fort_Carson%2C_Colorado), a review Kors alleged to be a sham.<ref name=autogenerated2/> According to Kors' piece, the Office of the Army Surgeon General had not interacted directly with discharged soldiers, instead relying on the Army officials who made the original diagnoses to confirm their confidence in their diagnoses.<ref name=autogenerated2/> Kors article stated that the Surgeon General's office then closed the review, without seeking information from more objective sources, leading to criticism of Pollock by the [Iraq War Veterans Organization](/source/Iraq_War_Veterans_Organization)<ref name=autogenerated1>[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0704/S00027.htm Scoop: Pentagon Cheats Iraqi Veterans Out Of Medical Care<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/view/5069/1/46 Political Affairs Magazine – Pentagon Cheats Iraq War Vets Out of Medical Care and Benefits<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004000/http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/view/5069/1/46 |date=2007-09-27 }}</ref> and [Veterans for America](/source/Veterans_for_America)<ref name=autogenerated1/>

==Personal==
In the [2024 United States presidential election](/source/2024_United_States_presidential_election), Pollock endorsed [Kamala Harris](/source/Kamala_Harris).<ref>{{Cite web |title=NSL4A Endorses Kamala Harris for President of the United States|publisher=National Security Leaders for America |url=https://www.nsl4a.org/nsl4a-announcements/nsl4a-endorsement-harris |accessdate=Jan 25, 2025| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240922180040/https://www.nsl4a.org/nsl4a-announcements/nsl4a-endorsement-harris | archive-date=22 September 2024}}</ref>

==Citations==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*Article adapted from [http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/leaders/pollock.html official public domain military biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317021927/http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/leaders/pollock.html |date=2007-03-17 }} released by the United States Army.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Gale Pollock}}
*[http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/leaders/pollock.html Official Army Medicine Command (USAMEDCOM) /  The Surgeon General site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317021927/http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/leaders/pollock.html |date=2007-03-17 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070704043812/http://www.military-medical-technology.com/article.cfm?DocID=1727 Interview with Major General Gale S. Pollock when she was U.S. Army Deputy Surgeon General]
*[PDF](/source/PDF) of [https://web.archive.org/web/20070425195244/http://armedservices.house.gov/pdfs/MilPersHC032707/Pollock_Testimony%203_27_07.pdf Gale Pollock's statement before the House Armed Services Committee, 27 March 2007]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070725203853/http://www.sanders.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=272773 The Nation report from Joshua Kors criticizing Pollock's review of PDD's at Ft. Carson] hosted by senate.gov

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box
| title=[Surgeon General of the United States Army](/source/Surgeon_General_of_the_United_States_Army) (Acting)
| before=[Kevin C. Kiley](/source/Kevin_C._Kiley)
| years=March 12, 2007 – December 11, 2007
| after=[Eric Schoomaker](/source/Eric_Schoomaker)
| }}
{{end}}
{{Directors of the United States Army Nurse Corps}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollock, Gale}}
Category:Female generals of the United States Army
Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Category:University of Maryland, College Park alumni
Category:Boston University School of Management alumni
Category:Baylor University alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Living people
Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Category:United States Army Nurse Corps officers
Category:Nurse anesthetists
Category:American nursing administrators
Category:American anesthesiologists
Category:Surgeons general of the United States Army
Category:21st-century American women
Category:Women anesthesiologists

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gale Pollock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gale_Pollock) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gale_Pollock?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.