The U.S. Army Medical Materiel Agency hosted a graduation ceremony for the Medical Logistics Management Internship Program at Fort Detrick, Maryland, Dec. 17.

The MLMIP is a six-month program designed to reinforce each participant's logistics foundation, adding to their professional knowledge base as well as expanding their network affiliations in the DOD and civilian health care environments. When graduates leave the MLMIP, they are equipped with the advanced training needed to support current and future operations.

As a former graduate of the MLMIP, Defense Health Agency's Deputy Program Manager of Health Information Technology Col. John Bailey served as keynote for the graduation.

"You will go to your organizations or tactical environments, and I guarantee that the information you got in this course you will be able to immediately apply," said Bailey, addressing the new MLMIP graduates.

The new MLMIP graduates included:

• Maj. Keva R. Brown
• Maj. Curtis Strong
• Capt. Dana Bal
• Capt. Jose Espinoza
• Capt. Tamara Tran
• Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth McCutcheon
• Sgt. 1st Class Jose Garcia, Jr.

"You have been exposed to a significant body of knowledge, one that will serve as a scaffolding or framework, for you to 'hang' additional lessons upon. I challenge you to continue building on what you've been exposed to here, leverage the relationships and connections you have made in this course and always seek to add value in every job you have. I'm confident that this course will assist you in that endeavor," said USAMMA Commander Col. David R. Gibson, to the graduates at the ceremony.

Since its establishment, the program has graduated 96 classes, including 469 Army officers, four Navy officers, nine warrant officers, 134 noncommissioned officers, and four civilians.

The most recent class included MLMIP's first pharmacist graduate, Capt. Dana Bal.

Bal explained that each class focuses on a unique area of logistics. This class focused on supply chain management, which she found very relevant to her work in pharmacy. During the program, the MLMIP participants visited a variety of locations, such as private health care centers and large supply distribution centers, as well as a consulting firm that has worked with hundreds of industry and DOD facilities to help them improve storage and distribution within the supply chain through simulation and other processes.

"I hope that what I can take away from this program is the knowledge that I need to better integrate the patient care side and the logistics side," said Bal. "Ultimately, it comes down to taking care of the patient."

To learn about the MLMIP program, visit http://www.usamma.army.mil/mlmip.cfm