US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Bragg, NC)

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Admrttrng Office Right, left to right: Col. J. N. WillIams, C. O. Regional Hospital Col. J. R. Underwood, Post Veterinariang Brig. Gen. H. C. Coburn Post Surgeon: Col. E. W. Cowan, Post Dental Surgeon. Second row Col. R. C. Tatum, Assistant Post Surgeon: Lt. Col. F. H. Herpe! Personnel Center Surgeon: Lt. Col. J. W. Nance, Executive Officer. Third row: Maj. R. L. Siegel, FARTC Surgeon: Maj. G. R. Carpenter, Medical Inspector: Capt. T. W. Long, Post Dispensary. PUST SUHGEIJ THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT Among the basic requirements for a successful army are Officers and men in prime physical condition. The rigors of modern warfare make it imperative that the soldiers on the battlefields and the troops performing the many vital tasks behind the lines maintain the highest standards of physical robustness and health. Keeping our Army healthy, preventing and eradicating disease, treating the sick and wounded, and training skilled personnel are the special mission and responsibility of the Army's Medical Department. ' Under the direction of the Post Surgeon, Brigadier General Henry C. Coburn Jr., the Medical Department on this reservation has been expanded greatly to answer the vastly increased demands made upon its services since our country entered the war. The enlargement of the medical services here was not a haphazard improvisation, some- thing hastily thrown together. Built on the firm foundation of a Medical Department in continuous operation for more than two decades, the medical services of today have kept pace with the rapid wartime growth of the Post. The Medical Department at Fort Bragg was established at the same time this station was activated as Camp Bragg in September, 1918. The first Post Surgeon was Major Douglas W. McEnery, and the earliest medical facilities consisted of a 500 bed Base Hospital, the major portion of which was never required or utilized for patients. Few changes occurred in the hospital setup of the Post until October, 1932, when a new 100-bed brick structure was erected. In time this building became the present Regional Hospital, Section 1. A year later, the Post Surgeon assumed responsibility for the medical care of the Civilian Conservation Corps units stationed in North Carolina. Early in 1939 Colonel Coburn succeeded Colonel Phillip Huntington as Post Surgeon, the position he now holds. Colonel Coburn has since been elevated,to the rank of Brigadier General. He is assisted in the performance of his duties by Colonel Roy C. Tatum, who has also been stationed at Fort Bragg since 1939. Shortly after Colonel Coburn became Post Surgeon, the expansion program at Fort Bragg got under way. Progress at first was gradual, but, following the countryfs entry into the War emergency, the building program was rapidly accelerated. By December, 1941, hospital facilities on the Post had already been extended to care for a military population of over 75,000. Two cantonment-type hospitals were completed and occupied in 1941. These became Sections 2 and 3 of the Station Hospital, with beds for over 3,000 patients. They were placed under the command of Colonel George D. Chunn and Colonel John H. Sturgeon, respectively. Later in 19411 the two sections were combined under the com- mand of Colonel Chunn, who operated the hospital until mid-1944, when he was transferred to Cushing General Hospital and Colonel James N. Williams was made Com- manding Oflicer of the hospital. As greater facilities were made available, additional personnel-doctors, dentists. nurses, trained enlisted men, and others-were added to the Post Surgeon's staff. Plans were ready at all times to broaden the scope of the department's activities as the population of the Post increased. During one period bf the Army's wartime growth, the Station Hospital was able, by absorption of other facilities, to accommodate 9,000 patients.

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, rg mmiigu ifrrw twiki? 452 f Mania: Top lett: Asphalt Plant .... Top right: Sewage Disposal Plant .... Center left: Fire Department in Action .... Center right: Loading Coal Fuel Yard No. I. . . . Bottom left: Laying Asphalt Paving. . . . Bottom right: Area Laboratory. Water Filtration Plant. 59

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'WWUQ N., 'W Top left: Siclc Call at the Post Dispensary. Captain Long Seated at Table ..,. Top right: Dental Technicians At Work .... Center lett: Surgi cal Operation, Regional Hospital .... Center right: X-Raying Sinuses at Regional Hospital .... Bottom left: Guinea Pigs Used by Respira tory Disease Commission .... Bottom right: Respiratory Disease Laboratory Workers.