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Superintendents and Chiefs of the Army Nurse Corps

MG Patricia D. Horoho

Chief, United States Army Nurse Corps
27 July 2008 - December 2011

Major General Horoho was sworn in as the 23rd Chief of the Army Nurse Corp and Commander, Madigan Army Medical Center and Western Region by Lieutenant General Eric B. Schoomaker, the Surgeon General of the United States Army on 11 July 2008 at 1300. MG Horoho relinquished command responsibilities of the Walter Reed Health Care System to Colonel Norvell Coots earlier that morning. The change of command and promotion ceremony took place at Karen Wagner Sports Center, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C. MG Horoho’s nomination was confirmed 27 July 2008 by the Senate.

Major General Horoho holds a BSN degree from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and a MSN degree as a Clinical Trauma Specialist from the University of Pittsburgh. MG Horoho is also a resident graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces where she earned a second Masters of Science degree in National Resource Strategy.

Major General Horoho’s most recent assignment as Commander of Walter Reed Health Care Systems began 24 May 2007. She served as Deputy Commander for Nursing for the WRAMC and the North Atlantic Region Medical Command. Other assignments include Staff Nurse on a multi-service specialty ward; Staff and Head Nurse of a Level III Emergency Department, Evans Army Community Hospital, Fort Carson, Colorado; Nurse Counselor 1st Brigade (Northeast), United States Army Recruiting Command, Fort Meade, Maryland and Head Nurse of a 22-bed Emergency Department, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. During her time as Head Nurse of the emergency room at Fort Bragg, MG Horoho, (then, Major) was instrumental in the triage, stabilization, and care of over 100 Army paratroopers during the devastating event recalled in the book, “The Disaster on Green Ramp” (Pope Air Force Base crash). She also served as Nurse Methods Analyst, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Chief Nurse and Hospital Commander of 249th 500 bed field hospital, Fort Gordon, Georgia; Assistant Branch Chief, Army Nurse Corps, United States Total Army Personnel Command, Alexandria, Virginia; Assistant Deputy for Healthcare Management Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., and Deputy Commander for Nursing of the DeWitt Health Care Network, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. 

Major General Horoho has numerous recognitions that tell the story of her dedication to patient care and her commitment to serve honorably in the Army Nurse Corp. In 1993 as a Major, she was selected by “The Great 100” as one of the top one hundred nurses in the State of North Carolina. That same year, she was selected Supervisor of the Year for Fort Bragg. She also deployed to Haiti in support of OPERATION UPHOLD DEMOCRACY (1994-1995) with the Army’s first Health Facility Assessment Team. In 1998, She co-authored a chapter on training field hospitals, published by the USARC Surgeon. On 3 December 2001, Horoho was honored in Time Life publications for her actions at the Pentagon, on 11 September 2001. Her own words of the attack on the Pentagon are captured in Soldiers to the Rescue: The Medical Response to the Pentagon Attacks. While serving in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, she was honored on 14 September 2002, as one of 15 nurses selected by the American Red Cross and Nursing Spectrum to receive national recognition as a “nurse hero.” Last year, MG Horoho received another honor when she was named a University of Pittsburgh Legacy Laureate. 

Major General Horoho’s awards and decorations include: Legion of Merit (1OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (6OLC), Army Commendation Medal (3OLC), Army Achievement Medal (1OLC), and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and various service and unit awards. She was the Head Nurse of Womack’s Emergency Department when the organization was awarded the Superior Unit Citation during the Pope AFB crash. She is authorized to wear the DA Staff Badge and is the recipient of the Order of Military Medical Merit.