About
AUSA’s Noon Report webinar series features presentations by senior Army leaders responsible for key programs and initiatives, as well as contemporary military authors who weave together the past, present and future story of the United States Army.

Please join us on Tuesday, 30 July, at 1200 ET, to hear a presentation by Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Dr. Martinez-Lopez will address what the Military Health System is doing to improve medical readiness, improve access to care in military hospitals and clinics, reattract beneficiaries to military hospitals and clinics, and provide opportunities to sustain clinical readiness for medical forces.

The views and opinions of our speakers do not necessarily reflect the views of the Association of the United States Army. The discussions held, in the opinion of the Association, will contribute to the overall discussions on defense or national security issues. These webinars should not be taken to represent the views of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, the United States government, the Association of the United States Army or its members.

WEBINAR ENDED
Agenda
  • 1145-1200: Log-on
  • 1200: Opening remarks by LTG Leslie Smith, U.S. Army Retired, Vice President, Leadership & Education, AUSA
  • 1205-1225: Fireside Chat with Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs and MG (Ret) Joseph Caravalho, Jr., MD, President and CEO Henry Jackson Foundation
  • 1225-1245: Question & Answer Session with Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs MG (Ret) Joseph Caravalho, Jr., MD, President and CEO Henry Jackson Foundation
  • 1250: Closing remarks by LTG Leslie Smith, U.S. Army Retired, Vice President, Leadership & Education, AUSA
Presenters
1711987640-a9ccbe5106518fac
Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs
Dr. Lester Martinez-Lopez is currently serving as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. In this role, he is the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense and the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness for all Department of Defense health and force health protection policies, programs, and activities.

Dr. Martinez, a family medicine physician, retired from the Army as a Major General and was the first Latino to head the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, where he directed the Army’s worldwide medical research, acquisition, and logistics program. His experience in military medicine also includes tours as the Commanding General of the Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, where he directed a worldwide public health organization, and command of three military hospitals. After retiring from the Army, he served as the Chief Medical Officer at the Brandon Regional Hospital in Florida and Senior Vice President and Administrator of the Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital in Texas.

Dr. Martinez graduated from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine with a Doctor of Medicine degree, and earned a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University.
1712069900-986e9057d7cb2f89
LTG Leslie Smith, U.S. Army Retired
Vice President, Leadership & Education, AUSA
Lieutenant General Leslie C. Smith, US Army (retired) currently serves as the Vice President for Leadership and Education, Association of the United States Army, the Carter Chair for leadership at Georgia Southern, LV Smith Corporate Group CEO, and on several corporate boards. LTG Smith received his commission from Georgia Southern University (GSU) in 1983 as a Field Artillery Officer. In 1985, he graduated from GSU with a bachelor's degree in accounting and as a distinguished military graduate and branched as a Chemical Officer.

LTG Smith's final assignment on active duty from 2018 to 2021 was as The Inspector General, Office of the Secretary of the Army, the first Chemical officer to serve in that position. His early assignments include service in the Georgia National Guard; Chemical Staff officer in the 3-52d Air Defense Artillery Battalion; Division and DIVARTY staff officer and company commander in the 82d Airborne Division; Chemical Branch Assignments Officer, PERSCOM; S-3 and XO in the 23d Chemical Battalion; and the Joint Staff, J-5. In 2001, he assumed command of the 83d Chemical Battalion, where elements of the Battalion deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.

Following command, he served on the Army Staff in the G-8 in the Full Dimensional Protection Division. In 2005, he assumed command of the 3d Chemical Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and later served as the G-3, 20th Support Command (CBRNE). From 2008-2010, he was the 25th Chief of Chemical and Commandant of the United States Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear School. In 2010, LTG Smith returned to the 20th Support Command (CBRNE) as the Commanding General. In June 2013, LTG Smith became the first Chemical officer to serve as the Commanding General of the United States Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood. He served as the Deputy the Inspector General from 2015 to 2018.

His military education includes the Chemical Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Airborne School, Jumpmaster School, Command and General Staff.

LTG Smith also holds master’s degrees from Central Michigan University and the National Defense University and is married to Vanedra, and they have two daughters.
1715598116-d89aad376a476636
MG (Ret) Joseph Caravalho, Jr., MD
President and CEO Henry Jackson Foundation
Dr. Caravalho has led HJF as its President and CEO since 2017. In this role, Dr. Caravalho guides the strategic vision for The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF), its subsidiaries, and global workforce in pursuit of its Congressionally mandated mission to advance military medicine.
Prior to joining HJF, then MG (Dr.) Caravalho culminated his military career as the Joint Staff Surgeon, where he served as the senior medical advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, providing recommendations to the Chairman, the Joint Staff, and Combatant Commanders on a wide range of medical and readiness issues.
Before becoming Joint Staff Surgeon, he was Army Deputy Surgeon General and Deputy Commanding General (Support) of the US Army Medical Command. Dr. Caravalho held clinical positions as a staff internist, nuclear medicine physician, and cardiologist.
For 38 years, he served the US Army in various leadership positions, including Commanding General of the Southern Regional Medical Command and Brooke Army Medical Center, the Northern Regional Medical Command, and the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and Fort Detrick in Maryland.
Dr. Caravalho graduated with a medical doctorate from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine in 1983. He also has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Gonzaga University and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the Army War College. In 2019 he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Gonzaga University.
Dr. Caravalho is currently a member of both the Wounded Warrior Project Board of Directors and the Gonzaga University Board of Trustees.
Register To Watch Recording
First Name*
Last Name*
Email Address*
Mil Rank/Civ Salutation (i.e, COL, Mr., Mrs., SFC)*
✓
AUSA Membership Number
Company Name/Military Duty Assignment*
City*
State/Province*
Country*
We use BigMarker as our webinar platform. By clicking Register, you acknowledge that the information you provide will be transferred to BigMarker processing in accordance with their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Powered by BigMarker