On Friday afternoon January 17, 2014 we observed the Transfer of Authority at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. The auditorium was packed. Senior leaders, active and retired, from all services attended along with a host of the staff and patients from the hospital and the National Capital Area. We were making history: it was the first time that a Navy officer would command the medical facility here. Those who were there said afterwards that it was one of the best ceremonies they had ever attended; a perfect blend of Army and Navy cultures and a testimony to the Joint future of military medicine.
Most importantly, my wife, my children, daughters and son-in-law, grandchildren and other close extended family members joined us. It was the first time my two grandchildren had been together in a gathering that RDML Bono called, “Country-Callahan.” It was a day that we will never forget!
When we determined that we were really retiring a month or so later my wife and I decided that there was no way we could ever top that ceremony. And so we decided not to try. We also realized that the people that we would hope to have joined us in celebration were scattered literally all over the globe with very busy lives. And so it seemed that this somewhat unorthodox “on-line” retirement ceremony might be the ideal way for us to observe this occasion and to invite our friends and family to observe it with us.
So thank you for joining us! Please feel free to leave a comment and if you want, you can provide contact information by emailing me at henryV43@gmail.com. (I will effectively be off “mail.mil” and “health.mil” at the end of March.) I look forward to being able to stay in touch!
We wish you all well and pray that for generations to come men and women will continue to rise up and dedicate themselves to the care of our Warriors – Pro Cura Militis.
In Gloriam Dei.
Chuck Callahan, Colonel retired, United States Army Medical Corps.
Pictorial Career in Review
Military Biography
Linked-In Profile
A Lanyard legacy.
“Congratulations!”
It is the universal response when people hear that I am retiring from the Army. And I cannot think of a single insincere exclamation of this greeting from a well-wishing colleague or friend. The fact is, at the end of March 2014 I will have served thirty years of active duty: 29 years, nine months in the Medical Department and three months in the infantry. The latter I only recently discovered “counts” toward the thirty year “Mandatory Removal Date.” (Which when you think about it sounds more like an surgical procedure than the celebration of a long and successful career!)
Actually it has been 38 years since I first put on the olive-drab Army uniform in a post-Vietnam college ROTC program. At the time I just wanted another activity to add weight to my medical school application. Back then I certainly never thought I would stay “in.” Recently I have had to come to terms with the fact that I never thought I’d leave.
Still congratulations is “an expression of praise for an achievement or good wishes on a special occasion,” so I suspect that it is appropriate. It’s just that I am not sure what to say in reply. I don’t imagine that my last day on active duty will be a happy, special occasion. And while I certainly have a lot to be thankful for over the past three decades, I would point to opportunity more than achievement.
The Army has given me much. In three decades I have had at least five careers. I was trained by the Army as a general pediatrician and then assigned to one of its busiest pediatric practices for three years. The Army sent me to a civilian children’s hospital to become a pediatric pulmonologist and then assigned me to Paradise where I was the only pulmonologist for 80,000 children in Hawaii and the Pacific Rim. Over my first twenty years, I had the honor of holding nearly every position available to a pediatrician: intern and resident, generalist, specialist, service chief, unit director, department “teaching” chief, medical student and residency program director, Surgeon General’s consultant.
Through Army pediatrics and pulmonology I learned how to teach residents and students, receiving the honor of teaching awards while having the chance to lecture all over the world. I learned to develop and participate in research; working with a team to manage two million dollars in competitive grants, presenting and publishing articles, abstracts, books and book chapters.
Finally, the Army has allowed me to learn hospital administration and health care leadership. The Commander at Tripler, a true mentor, added me as a member of the hospital’s executive committee in 2002. My last eight years in Washington D.C. helping to lead four hospitals allowed me to be the longest serving senior leader in execution of the 2005 BRAC law, merging Walter Reed Army Medical Center with National Naval Medical Center and creating the Fort Belvoir Community Hospital.
In the course of these last assignments, I have been a direct report to both the current Army and Navy Surgeons General. I had the privilege of holding command UCMJ authority for soldiers and sailors continuously over a five year period and have held Army, Navy and Joint award authority. I have been a part of the most complex medical merger in history. Its success will forever be a tribute to young men and women at the deck-plate and ground level who never lost sight of the most important part of our mission: Warriors and their families.
Flag officers have been my mentors and senior raters for the last fifteen years. And I have been able to help lead five different organizations through ten Joint Commission surveys. In all I have had the privilege of leading men and women from all three services as well as tremendously dedicated professional civilians and contractors. What officer in the MHS could possibly be more fortunate than I have been?
So while I receive the congratulations, I am more aware and thankful than ever of the incredible opportunities and I reflect on them with true gratitude.
Last week I went to a medical appointment at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital where I gave up command six weeks earlier. One of the hospital staff members greeted me with a hand-shake and “congratulations.” And then he told me a story.
He had been approached by a new nurse at the hospital who admired his purple Fort Belvoir Community Hospital lanyard.
“Where can I get one of those?” she asked.
“You should have gotten one from security,” he answered her. “Wait a minute,” he told the nurse removing the lanyard from his neck, “Take mine. I’ll get another.” He unsnapped his ID badge and CAC holder, and handed the lanyard to the appreciative staff member.
He told me the story then went on to say, “I wanted you to know that we learned that from you. You taught us to treat each another that way. That is what you have left here.” I was deeply humbled.
Ducere: We lead by example.
Docere: We teach by our actions more than by our words.
Deservire: We serve when we try to put others above ourselves.
It is a vocation, a calling. Hopefully, it is a reflection of Faith that if it is genuine, should shape both what we believe and how we live.
A lanyard legacy. As I transition from three decades in uniform caring for Warriors, their families and the men and women who give them care, I cannot think of a better way to be remembered.
Chuck Callahan Henry V 4.3 – Lead from the Front https://henryv43.wordpress.com/
Henry V 4.3 
Sir;
Our brief meeting in our Army careers is a blessing and a tragedy. I enjoyed the brief time together we shared as Commander / Director and CSM / SGM; and yet I feel cheated. I would have preferred to had a longer tenure serving together. One of my favorite moments was, as the interim CSM, I was walking with you through FBCH and asked if you’d like to get coffee. You agreed, and as we passed Starbucks, you noticed my puzzlement. You said you did not like the dining facility staff to see you with coffee from Starbucks. How considerate and selfless. Our hard-working employees / family, here at “oh dark thirty” preparing us breakfast; how it might make them feel to see us not take advantage of their hard work. To the day, I only buy coffee from the DFAC.
Thank you for the honor of serving beside you and meeting your wonderful family. GOD Speed and Good luck in your new chapter in life.
Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.
SGM Allen
Thank you for your service, leadership, love, care and all you have done for our family….you leave a wonderful legacy!
Thank you and I celebrate you for your awesome leadership style. As a young officer (Navy LT) I look for people such as you to emulate. I wish you the best of luck in your new career..Rest and Relaxation my friend>>
Dear CHuck (shipmate),
Every day I find another reminder of your legacy and how you inlfuenced/impacted/made better the lives of not only our patients but our staff. You are truly an American hero and I am honored and humbled to follow in your foot steps. Fair winds and follwoing seas as you begin the next journey.
Sir, thank you for your service to this great organization. Wishing you and your family the best of luck, prayers and blessings.
I hear the definition of culture in many ways. My definition of culture is Respect, Humble, Tolerant and Obedient which are all under the umbrella of self descipline. These are values that one has to posses in order to be able to abide by different cultures. Every organization has a different culture and without these values one cannot abide by any given culture. Culture is Discipline. I will quote “The best and first way to be a leader is to be the man or woman that you would like your people to become” by COL Charles Callahan. I will never forget this phrase. I sit at the Command Suite front desk and watch you interact with employees, patients and family members with no exception. Greeting and excorting scheduled patients and military officials to your office as they come in on a daily routine, not including your clinical duties and other scheduled meetings.
Today, I can proudly and honestly say that you are a true leader, one that we all can reflect back and remember always. You posses all the above qualities that a leader posses. I congratulate you on your retirement and wish you the best of luck in all your futue endeavors. I learned a lot from you during your tenure in office, both domestic and official. Again, I thank you for your service and everything you have done to keep this hospital in full operation. God Bless you and your family.
I have one last bit of latin for this chapter, which surely will be said of the next chapter and all the rest to come: euge bone serve et fidelis.
Chuck–thanks for so many things, but most importantly your telemedicine endeavors and mentorship. I will continue to do my utmost to continue the legacy you started here.
Becket
C. Becket Mahnke, MD
LTC, MC, USA
Pediatric, Congenital, and Fetal Cardiology
Director, Pacific Asynchronous TeleHealth (PATH)
Aloha Brother and Mahalo for your service to our country! Praying God’s will for next your mission. Congrats!!
Your Ohana in Hawaii
You’ve been an inspiration to many. You leave a hole in Army Medicines heart I’m sure, and your years of service have been marked with efficacy and efficiency. As you take those boots off after so many years, I hope to be able to fill them in a similar way.
Chuck, I tried to post earlier, but my iPhone ran out of power right at the end, so I am not sure the post made it to the website or not. So here is a repeat:
Congratulations on a long and successful career in the Army. Your impact is still being felt at Tripler. I am sure Dr. Bass is looking down on you with pride today. You have trained, mentored, and inspired many people. God bless you and your family as you begin this next stage of your life.
Aloha,
Judy Vincent
Your lanyard legacy has transcended your career, ranks, cultures and countless lives. You live your life with passion, purpose, humility and the true meaning of aloha….qualities which are both admirable and inspiring. Although I have not had the pleasure of working with you on a professional level, I have always been in awe of you and your family all of whom seem to follow your lead – a beautiful family of trail blazers both inside and out. Thank you for your service to our country and to my family. You have been present on the best day of our lives and sadly our worst day….and several in between. Our family is so thankful and honored to have known you thus far. We look forward to seeing what great things await you. I suspect your retirement will be full of even more opportunity, service and hopefully time for a little fun. 🙂
Sir,
It seems like the blink of an eye ago that I was assisting a young, fresh-out of Fellowship Pediatric Pulmonologist, a MAJ Callahan, with his first procedure. I was blessed with working with you for four years during my initial stint at Tripler and learned so much from you.
I distinctly remember one late afternoon during my second year of Residency, walking back from a very busy PICU to an equally busy Pediatric Ward to finish taking check out for what was sure to be a sleepless night. You must have seen the look on my face and reassured me that “this was temporary” and that “not all of life was going to be like this”. Guidance that you long ago probably forgot was given – but has long since been remembered by that overtired Housestaff who needed some on the spot encouragement.
It must be overwhelming to you to look back at how much you have done for so many people over the past 30 years. How many medical personnel of all types and Services whom you showed how to be a Leader. Sir, you don’t just talk about leadership – you lead.
Thank you for your service, your example, your mentoring and your friendship. I am looking forward to seeing where the next chapter of your life leads you and your amazing family.
V/r
COL Mark Burnett
C, Pediatric Infectious Disease
Tripler Army Medical Center
Honolulu, Hawaii
COL (Chuck): I will count it as one of my singular privileges to have worked with you. You exemplify everything positive about leadership, about being a career soldier, about being a principled family man and a consumate physician and an American Patriot. Legacies are written on the souls of those you encounter, yours is writ large. Always willing to tackle a challenge, always ready to lead from the front when things got tough, yet leading from the sidelines when you let others shine, that is the truly complete leader. I look forward to a life of friendhip, but wanted to know how graeful the Navy is for the leadership and example you have provided, American medicine needs you now and I look forward to your continued contributions, pax et bonum, peace and all good, Your friend and W/r,
Tom Beeman, RADM, SHCE, USN
Colleagues
My thanks to all of you on this eve of my last day on Active Duty! I cannot say how much these kind words mean to me and to our family. I am thankful for the Grace of God and the goodness that have been so much a part of these last thirty years!
Nietzsche said, “The essential thing in heaven and earth is…that there should be a long obedience in the same direction…” In September 1987, as a new pediatrician just two months out of residency I wrote, “I have come to embrace a vision of this life as that of a pilgrim; and my only hope is that the mark I leave on the road I walk will convince those around me that the One I pursue deserves to be followed.”
The road of obedience is familiar to all of us in uniform. And it is of this journey, this “long obedience” that Nietzsche reminds us, “…thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living.”
Pro Cura Militis – For the Care of the Warrior.
chuckcallahan
You have been a source of inspiration for many of us and your spirit and charisma will remain unmatched. A time of uncertainty is a time of questions and seeking and thus is also a privileged time of discovery. I am excited to see the next chapter of your career unfold as you continue to give selflessly of yourself for the benefit of your fellow man.
Wishing you and your family a life filled with peace, happiness, and health. All the best with your future endeavors which I am sure will undoubtedly contribute to the future shaping of health care.
Your presence will be greatly missed. God bless you and your family for the great things to come!
Chuck and Linda,
I wish I was eloquent enough to express my true feelings about you both. We first met in 1985 when I came to Walter Reed to be on the pediatric staff and OTSG consultant. So much has happened in the interim 29 years it is hard to know where to start. First of all and I guess most importantly, we are both alive, you with a near cancer scare and me with cancer and surgery. We are both still married to the same beautiful women, not sure what your total years are but Kathe and I will celebrate 45 in a couple of months. Our children are doing well, as are our children’s children. We both know the trials and joys of parenthood and the joys of grandparenthood. Our personal lives have followed similar tracks, and so to, our military careers: Army residency, MEDDAC staff, fellowship, MEDCEN staff, department chief, Deputy Commander for Clinical Services at Walter Reed, OTSG Consultant in Pediatrics. Your career clearly surpassed my own with you position of MEDDAC commander, not once but twice. My retirement at 30 years active duty seems but a few years ago but in reality, was 14. Your retirement after 30 years active duty was only a few days ago but the days will quickly become years as you move to new and different challenges. Throughout it all you have maintained your honesty, integrity, and Christian principles, an accomplishment you can look back on with great satisfaction. Your many accomplishments bring great pride to your mentors and teachers who saw your potential and then watched as you brilliantly fulfilled every bit of it. In my over 40 years of serving and observing uniformed pediatricians I have seen, known, and worked with more than a few who became General/Flag Officers but none of them come close to your ability to inspire and motivate those you lead. Everyone that hears one of your accomplished presentations leaves with the desire to be better at what they do and to improve themselves and their service to others. Over the years I have heard hundreds of speeches but few can match the “wow” factor of one of yours. I can remember the first time I said to myself “wow” about you. It was at the end of the training year when you were a resident at Walter Reed and you led the prayer before the meal at the farewell banquet. You thanked God for the work that He gave us to do. I thought at the time that I had heard folks thank God for the work of evangelism and others for having a job to provide for themselves and their family, but I had never heard it said the way you said it in thanking God for our “work.” You were a Captain and I was a Colonel but I thought at the time “wow, this guy is different!” How true that was and still is! Congratulations Chuck, you made the Army greater by your presence and it is lesser for your retirement. Best wishes and God’s blessings be on you and your family.
With love, respect, and admiration,
John Pierce COL, MC USA (Ret)
Sir, I wish I could find the words to state as eloquently as others the impact you have had on those you have led and whose lives you have touched. Twenty years ago I wrestled with the decision to attend medical school, thinking naively at the time that the only way to touch the lives of Soldiers was to lead them in a conventional unit. I took a leap of faith in forfeiting my opportunity to lead a platoon, hoping that some day I would have a chance to impact others in medicine. It is through your example of exceptional and truly unsurpassed leadership that I am convinced it is possible. Our MHS needs more leaders like you; I am convinced that the seeds you’ve planted in the ranks of Military Medicine will bear your legacy of leadership in the decades to come. The comments on this string are evidence enough. Best wishes for a restful and rewarding post-Army life. Hope our paths cross again.
Wendi Waits
LTC, MC, USA
Director for Behavioral Health, Fort Belvoir Community Hospital
Sir,
This has been my first experience at a joint command and I have greatly valued my time under your mentorship. I greatly underestimated what a journey leadership would be but in the end it is about caring for the people you lead and serve. The organization continues to benefit from your leadership and our future is bright as we implement your strategic vision over this year. Despite the ill press regarding military medicine as of late this does not dampen the enthusiasm we have for caring for the patients entrusted to us. Fair winds and following seas.
CDR Alex Bustamante