U.S. Air Force Governor's Newsletter September 2026
In this Issue:
- From the Governor
- Highlights from the ACP Tri-Service ACP Annual Scientific Meeting
- Council Updates
- Chapter Members
- Member Spotlight
- Final Thoughts
Brian E. Neubauer, MD, MHPE, FACP, Col, USAF, MC, ACP Governor
From the Governor
Greetings ACP members! Fresh off completion of our highly successful Tri-Service ACP Annual Scientific Meeting in Bethesda, MD, our Chapter is moving forward towards the fall and winter season. The Ohio/Air Force Annual Scientific Meeting is taking place in Columbus, OH from 26-27 October. I plan to attend if I can get my proffer package through legal! It will be wonderful to be able to interact with our members in the Ohio area as well as those in the Ohio Chapter itself. Ohio ACP Governor Moises Auron has been a tremendous supporter of all military ACP chapters, and this is just one example of that support. I will also be at the ACP Board of Governors Fall meeting in Chicago in late September. And of course, now is the time to start planning for the upcoming National ACP meeting in Apr 2027 in Los Angeles, CA (15-17 Apr). The abstract submission window for that meeting will open in early October. I hope all of you enjoyed a beautiful summer and I wish you the best for the upcoming school and holiday seasons!
Highlights from the ACP Tri-Service ACP Annual Scientific Meeting
This year's meeting was held at the Bethesdan Hotel in Bethesda, MD. We set a record with 351 registrants! This represents a 12% increase in attendance compared to last year's Tri-Service meeting. There were 10 MACP's, 62 FACP's, 76 members, 157 resident members, and 16 medical students in attendance. The venue was amazing and we are very grateful for all the exhibitors' support we received. We would not have been able to put on this meeting without them.
Day-by-day highlights
Day 1
The meeting kicked off with a presentation by DHA Director VADM Darin Via. VADM Via shared his vision for the MHS and encouraged internists and internal medicine subspecialists to continue to identify the risks in our hospitals and clinics and push that risk up – our senior leaders need to own that risk for our organization to move forward. He also encouraged us to feel empowered to solve the problems we face at our level and “tell your boss what you did”. VADM Via outlined DHA's four lines of effort:
- Deliver warfighter medical readiness
- Deliver medical warrior currency
- Deliver joint warfighting capabilities
- Deliver the healthcare enterprise beneficiaries deserve
This graphic highlights the big picture he shared with us:
VADM Via shared that the FY27 campaign order is expected to be published in October.
Col Brian Neubauer (US Air Force Governor), CAPT Nancy Miller (US Navy Governor), VADM Darin Via (DHA Director), COL Tatjana Calvano (US Army Governor)
This session was followed by a senior leader panel consisting of Lt Gen John J. DeGoes (USAF Surgeon General and Commander, AFMEDCOM), MG Clinton Murray (Joint Staff Surgeon), and Dr. Michael McGinnis (Executive Director, BUMED). The leaders responded to a variety of questions submitted by our Tri-Service members. We are very grateful to each of them for taking time out of their very busy schedules to spend a morning with us.
Dr. Michael McGinnis (Executive Director, BUMED), CAPT Nancy Miller (US Navy Governor), Col Brian Neubauer (US Air Force Governor), Lt Gen John J. DeGoes (USAF Surgeon General and Commander, AFMEDCOM), COL Tatjana Calvano (US Army Governor), MG Clinton Murray (Joint Staff Surgeon) (left to right)
Doctor's Dilemma: as usual, we had a vigorous and wildly entertaining Doctor's Dilemma competition. Service winners:
- Army: Brooke Army Medical Center/SAUSHEC
- Navy: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
- Air Force: Brooke Army Medical Center/SAUSHEC
The event was capped off with the Tri-Service championship which this year went to the Navy.
All three teams have earned a berth to compete in this event at the National ACP meeting in Los Angeles.
Winning Air Force Doctor's Dilemma Team: Capt Chris Pittman, Capt Erin Gulden, and Capt Hunter Rolain (SAUSHEC)
All three Air Force Doctors Dilemma teams in action! (Left to right: Keesler, Wright Patterson, SAUSHEC)
Award ceremony: day 1 ended with our award ceremony. Congratulations to all our award winners. Winners for the Air Force Chapter include:
Arynce Pock Air Force ACP Award Class of 2026
Presented to the outstanding graduating Air Force (AF) medical student who has selected Internal Medicine (IM) as a career and who consistently demonstrated exceptional performance in IM during medical school at USUHS.
Capt Christian Vukovics, MD
Capt Raymond Mrozek, Wright Patterson AFB
Major General Archie Hoffman Award - MTF
Presented to a staff early career physician from a teaching medical center for excellence in academic medicine as exemplified by clinical practice, clinical teaching, research or accomplishments in stimulating trainees to pursue research.
Capt Raymond A. Mrozek, MD
Lieutenant General (Dr.) Monte Miller Award
Awarded to an Air Force ACP Chapter member who has completed residency in Internal Medicine and is in the first 16 years of their clinical and professional development who has excelled in medical research.
Major Brian Elliott, MD
Maj Brian Elliott, SAUSHEC
Dr. George Crawford Distinguished Medical Educator Award
Awarded to an Air Force ACP Chapter member between the rank of senior Major to Colonel who has distinguished themselves in academic teaching endeavors of medical professionals during their tenure in the Air Force Medical Service.
Dr. Jamie L. Geringer, DO, MHPE, FACP
Dr. Jamie Geringer, USUHS
Rechell Rodriguez Award for the Mentorship of Women in Medicine
Awarded to an Air Force ACP Chapter member at the rank of Fellow (FACP) for distinguished contributions to the mentorship and leadership development of women in military medicine.
Col (ret) Dr. Diane C. Homeyer, MD, FACP, FIDSA
Col (ret) Rechell Rodriguez, Col (ret) Diane Homeyer
James H. Henderson II Excellence in Operational Medicine Award
Awarded to an Air Force ACP Chapter member in recognition of their contributions to operational medicine through exceptional leadership, clinical excellence, and unwavering service to Airmen and the mission.
Major William N. Bennett V, MD, FACP
AF ACP Laureate Award
The Laureate Award is designed to honor those Fellows and Masters of the College who have demonstrated, by their example and conduct, an abiding commitment to excellence in medical care, education, and research, and service to their community, their chapter, and the ACP. Col (ret) Dr. Angelique N. Collamer, MD, MACP, FACR
Col (ret) Dr. Jeffrey LaRochelle, MD, MPH, FACP
In addition to our Chapter Awards, the following members earned first place in the podium competition categories:
Clinical Vignette
Rapidly Progressive ILD in Anti-MDA5 Dermatomyositis: A High-Risk Phenotype
Capt Cody King
High Value Care
Targeted CGM Lecture Impact on Internal Medicine Residents' Confidence and Competency in Diabetes Management
Capt Jacob Mansfield
Process and Quality Improvement
Feedback on Feedback: Using Faculty Report Cards to Improve Narrative Assessment Quality
Capt Audry Garza
Physician Wellbeing and Professional Fulfillment
When Distressing Events Occur: Durable Gains from a Debriefing Curriculum
Capt Spencer Renne
Clinical Research
Making Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease Screening Routine
Capt Peter Allegre
Each of these winners advanced to compete in the National Meeting.
Day 2
- Day 2 opened with a brief presentation from Col (ret) Christin Mount who is a former Army Chapter Governor and current member of ACP's Board of Regents
- We had our annual Air Force Chapter Meeting which included the following highlights:
- Stable Chapter membership (649, decreased from 656 last year)
- Continued growth in our Guided Fellowship pathway
- Stable financial status (end-of-year balance of $110,450, up $9,092 from last year)
- Two USU faculty development sessions
- Two plenary sessions
- Numerous breakout rooms, poster sessions, and other sessions
Day 3
- A mixture of plenary sessions, breakout rooms, and USU faculty development
Throughout the entire meeting, COL (ret) Bill Kelly and his team ran a well-designed and realistic escape room. Set in the future and in outer space, teams had to test their medical knowledge and problem-solving skills to deactivate a nuclear reactor aboard a runaway spacecraft stocked with cryopreserved humans seeking remedies for incurable illness from a prior period. It was a blast and highly realistic. I'm proud to report that I made it out with just a few minutes to spare!
Escape Room Team: Col Kathryn Burtson, Maj Brian Elliott, COL (ret) Bill Kelly, Maj Alicia Latta, Col (ret) Rechell Rodriguez
We escaped! COL Sky Graybill, Col Brian Neubauer, Col (ret) Angie Collamer (Immediate Past Governor)
A big thank you to all our meeting planners, especially Maj Ryan Collier and Maj Julia Timm Intili from our Chapter. The resounding success of this meeting simply would not have been possible without your dedication and efforts!
Council Updates
ACP's Chapter Excellence Award program guides chapters to reach basic expectations in chapter management and inspires chapters through a tiered reward system to achieve excellence. The award is defined by three distinct levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
- The Bronze Level recognizes chapters that achieve basics in chapter management.
- The Silver Level recognizes chapters that achieve excellence in chapter management.
- The Gold Level recognizes truly extraordinary chapters that surpass excellence in chapter management.
ACP just announced these awards in late August. For a second year in a row, our Chapter has been awarded the Gold Chapter Excellence Award! Our Chapter will receive $5,000 from National ACP for this accomplishment. Congratulations and sincere thank you to all members who contributed to this effort. Of note, our Army Chapter colleagues also received Gold level recognition for the second-year running. And the Navy Chapter achieved Gold excellence for the first time! Congratulations to our colleagues in our sister chapters.
Council of Early Career Physicians by Dr. Jamie Geringer, FACP (Chair)
Since our last update in June, we hosted a session at the Tri-Service ACP meeting focused on introducing early career physicians to the CECP, highlighting leadership and professional networking opportunities, and gathering feedback on how the committee can best support them moving forward. The top priority identified by attendees was a future session on finding mentors (coming this spring, details to follow). We also announced the winner of our CECP Challenge Coin Design Competition, Jinbum Dupont (Internal Medicine Resident, SAUSHEC), and distributed coins to several recipients, including resident podium competition winners and Doctors' Dilemma winners. In addition, we launched what we hope will become a Tri-Service ECP tradition with our first early career physician run, meeting Thursday morning at Tri-Service hotel lobby, running a few miles together, and ending with breakfast at Tatte Bakery. Looking ahead, our next virtual session, “Financial & Career Planning for Early Career Physicians,” will be held Thursday, December 3 at 6:30 PM Central with CAPT (ret) Joel Schofer.
Early Career Physician run participants at the Tri-Service ACP Meeting
Council of Chief Residents by Capt Rachel Cox (Chair, Chief of Residents, Wright Patterson AFB)
The Tri-Service Chief Council had the opportunity to meet for the first time in person last month at Tri-Service ACP. At our meeting we reviewed the Tri-Service Chief Council mission statement, brainstormed ideas for the council, and determined a leadership transition protocol. Some ideas for the council include increased collaboration and resource sharing across the branches and training sites, increasing mentorship opportunities, and hosting professional development sessions. We also discussed creation of one-page summaries of each training location to share with applicants, highlighting key differences and strengths of each program. Lastly, we discussed potential rotation and networking opportunities by leveraging connections made through the council. Our leadership will transition each year on a volunteer basis from each branch. Our new Air Force representative is Amberly Vaughn (Keesler AFB) with new Army and Navy representatives chosen as well. We are excited to see the direction they take the council and to see that they accomplish!
Update for Council of Resident and Fellow Members by Maj Elena Crouch (Chair)
The CRFM has remained active with monthly meetings and check-ins with our subcommittees. We had two sessions at Tri-Service ACP as well as our in person meeting. The two sessions were a subspecialty fellowship panel for residents interested in Cardiology, PCCM and Rheumatology, where we had program directors from all the MTFs there to talk to interested residents about their subspecialties, as well as a medical student session for them to learn about the different IM programs available to them. We have selected our future co-chairs and will be sending out the call for new members in the next few months, so that we can come up with new goals for the year.
Council of Medical Students by 2d Lt Hannah Martinez (Co-Chair)
The Council of Medical Students hosted a Virtual Residency Q&A on August 18 featuring Dr. Rachel Cox, Chair of the Council of Chief Residents, and Dr. Katherine Seebeck, Chair of the Council of Residents and Fellows. The session covered the residency application process, military match, interview preparation, and transition to intern year. We had great participation from the USUHS Classes of 2027 and 2028, HPSP students, and our council members.
The Council has also recruited several new ACP members as a result! We hope to host another virtual meeting in mid-September before residency applications are due to answer final questions and support students through the application process. So be on the lookout for another meeting!
Chapter Members
Please join me in welcoming our newest Fellows! Congratulations on your selection to FACP!
- Dr. Molly Boyer, Associate Program Director, SAUSHEC Internal Medicine and Attending Internist, Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center
- Maj Lisa Dykes, Attending Internist, Joint Base Elmendorf
- Maj Julia Timm Intili, Clerkship Site Director-San Antonio, Uniformed Services University and Attending Internist, Joint Base San Antonio
- Elizabeth Willis
- Maj Samuel Weiss, Attending Allergist/Immunologist, Joint Base Andrews
Our Chapter has seen sustained growth in participation in ACP's Guided Fellowship Program. This program targets members that recently completed their PGY-3 internal medicine residency year, one-year post-residency, or are currently completing PGY-4 chief residency year. It provides participants with a structure to enable them to meet the requirements for ACP Fellowship over a three-year period.
We currently have two members with expected election to Fellowship in Dec 2026.
- Daniel Shields
- Jason Thomas
We also have four members with expected election in Dec 2027 and 12 members with expected election in Dec 2028.
Member Spotlight
Sirri Akaya
2Lt, USAF
Third-year Medical Student
Georgetown University School of Medicine
Sirri is a third-year medical student at Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Hometown: Hagerstown, MD
Undergraduate: United States Air Force Academy
Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine
What I love most about medicine: The opportunity to learn the intricacies of the human body, as well as having the honor of providing compassionate care for patients and connecting with them about their lived experience.
What I enjoy doing in my free time: Reading, exploring D.C., trying new restaurants, spending time in the great outdoors, and hanging out with my family and friends.
One thing most people do not know about me: I am learning how to sew! I have been focused on reworking and tailoring clothing items that I thrift into something new, but any day now, I am going to try making new pieces from scratch!
What I like about ACP: Our ACP chapter offers the opportunity to connect with other military medical students and physicians even while being at a civilian institution! I also love that the medical student council provides the opportunity for advocacy, community service, and connection.
Final Thoughts
I will be attending the Fall Board of Governor's meeting in Chicago where, among other things, we will debate and vote on the proposed resolutions for the College. Thank you to all those members who submitted comments on these resolutions. I will be sure to represent your interests at the meeting. I also look forward to seeing many of you at the upcoming Ohio/AF Annual Scientific Meeting in Columbus in October! As always, send comments, thoughts, suggestions, or just a what's up to me at bneubauer001@gmail.com .
Yours in service,
BN
BRIAN E. NEUBAUER, MD, MHPE, FACP
Col, USAF, MC
Governor, Air Force Chapter of the ACP