Lt. Gen. Charles Green became the Air Force’s 20th surgeon general Wednesday during a swearing-in ceremony at the Pentagon presided over by Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. Green, who has been the deputy surgeon general since August 2006, replaces Lt. Gen. James Roudebush, who formally retires on Oct. 1. Green was nominated for the position in April and received Senate confirmation in May. Green entered active duty in 1978 after completing his doctorate of medicine degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. He holds a rating of chief flight surgeon and has amassed 1,200 flight hours. (Air Force release).
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.