Col. Alex Montgomery said he is excited to lead Winn Army Community Hospital and MEDDAC, or Medical Department Activity. For Col. Margaret Berryman, it was another bittersweet farewell.
The command of Winn Army Community Hospital changed from Col. Berryman to Col. Montgomery at Fort Stewart’s Cashe Garden on Wednesday morning.
Col. Berryman will become the chief of staff for Brig. Gen. Jamie Burk, commander of the U.S. Army Medical Readiness Command, East, at Fort Belvoir, Va., and who presided over Wednesday’s ceremony.
“I feel blessed to be here today and excited to be a part of this community,” Col. Montgomery said, “a part of this command and excited to get after it and help this community continue to enhance warfighter health and readiness for Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield.”
Col. Montgomery brings 22 years of health care experience to command of Winn and Fort Stewart’s MEDDAC, having last served as the senior operations officer for the Defense Health Agency.
“Nothing really prepares you for such an awesome leadership opportunity,” he said. “But I’m excited to be here and be part of this command that has great leaders, great support.”
Not only were members of her family, including her mother, present for the ceremony, but so were the people Col. Berryman grew to know through Scouting USA.
“This is a great Army community,” she said. “This one is special. It’s been a blessing just to be here.”
Col. Berryman said she had pride and gratitude for what her team accomplished during her two years in command.
“It’s been an honor of a lifetime to lead this amazing, winning team and to be part of this community,” she said. “We call this the winning team, for a reason. Every single member of this team continues to show up every single day and provides exceptional care to our warfighters and all the patients entrusted to our care. We have an amazing team of professionals dedicated to our mission.”
Col. Berryman praised her successor, calling Col. Montgomery a phenomenal leader. She also praised the partnerships built with the community and other health care providers, such as local hospitals, over the last two years.
“What we do is a team sport,” she said. “It requires great partnerships with our community and our local hospitals. It is so critical we have that strong partnership with all of our community leaders to make sure we accomplish our mission.”
Brig. Gen. Burk commended Col. Berryman for her winning bucket list and creative thinking, promoting healthy recreation and wellness programs and community engagement. She left an exceptional team and established a foundation of excellence and commitment to the mission, Brig. Gen. Burk added.
Col. Montgomery brings a “proven track record” and “a wealth of experience to this role,” Brig. Gen Burk said.
“I have full confidence in your ability to guide this MEDDAC to even greater heights,” he added. “We are not just delivering health care, we are building trust, trust within our patients, trust within our ranks and trust within the Army we serve. Under your leadership, I have no doubt Winn will keep winning.”
As commander of WACH and MEDDAC, the health care of more than 20,000 soldiers and family members, and thousands of retirees, now falls upon Col. Montgomery.
“It’s a huge task,” he said, “but we have a great team here. The whole team here is just amazing. I’ve been here two weeks and have been extremely impressed with what they do on a daily basis.”
Though all of the 3rd Infantry Division’s units are at home for the time being, Col. Montgomery also is aware of how fast things can change with the division – and how fast things move with the division.
“I don’t know that anything can prepare you to be a part of the 3rd ID, other than to be a part of the 3rd ID,” he said. “The tempo here is like no other. I’m excited to be a part of it.”