Richard Carmona

Richard Henry Carmona, (born November 22, 1949) was the 17th Surgeon General of the United States. As the Surgeon General, he was commissioned as a Vice Admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commisioned Corps and served as the head of the Corps. Appointed in 2002, he left his office at the end of July 2006 upon the expiration of his term.

In August 2006, Carmona returned home to Tucson, Arizona as a celebrated member of the community. According to KVOA Television, he may be considering public office. He is now the CEO of Canyon Ranch Resort and Spa.

Early years and career
Carmona was born in New York City of Puerto Rican descent, and raised in Harlem. After dropping out of Dewitt Clinton high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967. While enlisted, he received his Army General Educational Development (GED), joined the United States Army Special Forces, became a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, and began his career in medicine.

After leaving active duty, Carmona attended the Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, where he earned his associate of arts degree. In 1977, he graduated from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), with a bachelor of science degree; in 1979, he received his medical degree from UCSF, where he was awarded the prestigious gold headed cane as the top graduate.

Medical career through July 2006
Carmona worked in various positions in the medical field including paramedic, registered nurse and physician. He completed a surgical residency at UCSF and a National Institutes of Health-sponsored fellowship in trauma, burns, and critical care. Carmona is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and certified in correctional health care and in quality assurance.

In 1998, he earned a Master's degree in Public Health (M.P.H.) from the University of Arizona.

Before being named Surgeon General, Carmona was the chairman of the State of Arizona Southern Regional Emergency Medical System, a professor of surgery, public health and family and community medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Pima County Sheriff's Department surgeon and deputy sheriff.



Carmona has held positions of responsibility as chief medical officer, hospital chief executive officer, public health officer, and finally chief executive officer of the Pima County health care system. He has also served as a medical director of police and fire departments and is a peace officer with expertise in special operations and emergency preparedness, including weapons of mass destruction.

Position on smoking
Carmona is adamantly opposed to tobacco smoking and has stated more than once that he wants all tobacco sales and consumption prohibited nationwide. He has even gone so far as to urge people to "stay away from smokers".

Congressional testimony
On July 10, 2007, Carmona testified before the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and accused the Bush administration of political interference and preventing him from speaking out on certain public health issues like embryonic stem cell research, global climate change, and abstinence-based prevention initiatives. "Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried ..."the problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science or marginalizing the voice of science for reasons driven by changing political winds." According to Carmona, he was even ordered to mention President Bush three times on every page of his speeches. Although he did not use his name, the Washington Post reported on July 29 that the official who blocked at least one of Carmona's reports was William R. Steiger.