Brigadier General DR. MICHAEL J. YASZEMSKI

Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Michael J. Yaszemski is the mobilization assistant to the Assistant Surgeon General for Health Care Operations, Washington, D.C. 

General Yaszemski was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1979 in the Air Force Reserve through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. He entered active duty as a captain upon graduation from medical school in 1983. He completed his orthopaedic surgery residency in 1989, and training in spine surgery in 1991. The general is board certified in orthopaedic surgery. He has served as Chief, Flight Medicine, at Kelly AFB, Texas. He has also served as Chief, Spine Surgery; Director, Orthopaedic Research; and Director, Hyperbaric Medicine, at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas.

In his civilian occupation, he is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minn. He is Chair, Division of Spine Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and Director, Polymeric Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, at Mayo Clinic.

EDUCATION
1977 Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.
1978 Master of Science degree in chemical engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa.
1979 Health Professions Officer Indoctrination Course, Air University, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
1983 Doctor of Medicine, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
1984 Aerospace Medicine Primary Course, Brooks AFB, Texas
1986 Squadron Officer School, by correspondence
1989 Residency in orthopaedic surgery, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas
1989 Air Command and Staff College, by correspondence
1991 Fellowship in spine surgery, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.
1995 Doctor of Philosophy in chemical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
1997 Air War College, by correspondence

ASSIGNMENTS
1. September 1984 - June 1985, Chief, Flight Medicine, U.S. Air Force Clinic, Kelly AFB, Texas
2. July 1985 - June 1989, orthopaedic surgery resident, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas
3. July 1989 - June 1991, Fellow, Spine Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beth Israel Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Mass.
4. July 1991 - June 1996, staff orthopaedic surgeon, Director of Orthopaedic Research, and Chief of Hyperbaric Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas
5. September 1996 - January 2000, individual mobilization augmentee, Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, Texas
6. January 2000 - July 2003, individual mobilization augmentee, Surgeon General's Tactical Assistance Team, Office of the Surgeon General, Bolling AFB, D.C.
7. August 2003 - June 2004, individual mobilization augmentee to the Deputy Command Surgeon, Office of the Command Surgeon, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
8. July 2004 - November 2004, individual mobilization augmentee to the Command Surgeon, Office of the Command Surgeon, Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill.
9. December 2004 - January 2009, mobilization assistant to the Command Surgeon, Air Mobility Command and U.S. Transportation Command, Scott AFB, Ill. (July 2006 - September 2006, Deputy Commander, 332nd Medical Group, Air Force Theater Hospital, Balad Air Base, Iraq)
10. January 2009 - present, mobilization assistant to the Assistant Surgeon General for Health Care Operations, Washington, D.C.  

FLIGHT INFORMATION
Rating: Flight surgeon
Aircraft flown: C-5, C-130, B-52, F-106, F-4, T-37 and T-38

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal
Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with oak leaf cluster
National Defense Service Medal with bronze star 
Iraq Campaign Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal 
Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border
Air Force Longevity Service Award with silver oak leaf cluster
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with silver hourglass and "M" device
Air Force Training Ribbon

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1989 Outstanding graduate, Air Command and Staff College
1995 Marquis' Who's Who in Science and Engineering 
1995 - present, Associate Professor of Surgery, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.
1999 Marquis' Who's Who in the World
2000 Fellow, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS AND ASSOCIATIONS
1999 - 2005, Chair, FDA Advisory Panel for Orthopaedic and Restorative Devices 
2001 - present, Air Force Reserve Representative and member, Board of Directors, Society of Military Orthopaedic Surgeons
2002 - 2007, Chair, NIH Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering Study Section
2003 - 2005, Secretary, Minnesota Orthopaedic Society
2004 - present, Vice chair, Committee F.04, Medical Devices, Users Division, American Society of Testing and Materials
2004 - present, Chair, Council on Research, Scoliosis Research Society
2005 - present, Fourth Degree Knight, Knights of Columbus, Holy Spirit Church 
2005 - present, Associate Editor, Part A, Journal of Biomedical Materials Research
2006 - 2008, President, Minnesota Orthopaedic Society
2006 - present, Chair, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Device Forum

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Captain Dec. 23, 1981
Major Dec. 23, 1987
Lieutenant Colonel Dec. 23, 1993
Colonel April 1, 1998
Brigadier General Feb. 7, 2008

(Current as of January 2009)