U.S. Air Force activates the 316th Inpatient Squadron at Walter Reed

Story by Bernard Little

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

The U.S. Air Force activated the 316th Inpatient Squadron at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) on Aug. 23, 2024, the first Air Force squadron to exist entirely within Walter Reed.

In her remarks at the ceremony, WRNMMC Director U.S. Navy CAPT (Dr.) Melissa Austin, welcomed the Air Force squadron to Walter Reed, telling the Airmen, “You punch way above your weight here.”

While fewer in number than Sailors and Soldiers serving at Walter Reed, the Airmen who are here, Austin explained, enable the medical center to accomplish its core missions, including force development and force generation and combat casualty reception.

“While your footprint has always been small, it’s critical [at Walter Reed],” Austin continued, adding that Airmen have always been a part of the “unique hybrid culture” forged at WRNMMC since it was established in 2011 when Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center joined forces.

As part of the activation, Air Force Col. Stacy Friesen, commander and director of the 316th Medical Group, Joint Base Andrews, and Senior Master Sgt. Erin Barger, senior enlisted leader for the Directorate of Nursing at Walter Reed, unfurled the 316th Inpatient Squadron’s flag, and passed it to U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Falana Gideon, who assumed command of the new squadron.

“In order to continue executing our dual mission to deliver the health care benefit and ensure ready forces, joint became an imperative,” said Friesen, a nurse. “For over 10 years, the Air Force has been sending aspiring medics to train in the National Capital Region, and [in June], the Air Force graduated 20 interns, residents and fellows from joint programs at Walter Reed. This year, 23 trainees will begin their journey.” She added that Air Force nurses and technicians also comprise roughly a third of the critical care capability at WRNMMC, providing currency for those clinicians, while also allowing Walter Reed to maintain its combat receiving capabilities. She said activation of the new squadron allows for better support of those Airmen, as well as for their integration within the Walter Reed team by having a dedicated Air Force unit onsite. She charged Gideon with “leading the next generation of Air Force physicians, surgeons, nurses and medics, so that they can continue to provide unmatched service to our Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen and Guardians.”

Gideon, also a nurse, said she looks forward to “strengthening interservice ties” between the Air Force and the other services at Walter Reed. She added that standing up a dedicated Air Force unit at Walter Reed moves toward “solidifying the Air Force’s footprint on this prestigious campus. We have the stick now. Let’s take our place,” she concluded.