Major General Howard A. McMahan, M.D., Retires After 36 Years in the Military
Commendations from the President of the United States highlighted an April 17 retirement ceremony for Resurgens Orthopaedics surgeon Major Gen. Howard A. McMahan, M.D., as he concluded 36 years of service in the Air Force Reserve.
The ceremony at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington culminated the military career for the highest-ranking medical Reserve Officer in the Air Force. Before his May retirement, Dr. McMahan served as Mobilization Assistant to the Surgeon General of the Air Force and held the rank of Major General.
Dr. McMahan combined his military service with his full-time practice at Resurgens, Georgia's largest orthopaedics practice.
Gen. McMahan worked with Air Force Reserve and active duty officers to ensure that the Air Force Reserve maintained the staff, training, and equipment necessary to support their active duty counterparts.
Lt. Gen. (Dr.) James G. Roudebush, Air Force Surgeon General, praised Gen. McMahan, saying he "greatly contributed to the Reserve's partnership with the Air Force Medical Service in developing the doctrine, concept of operations, and equipment to rapidly deploy as first responders, and meet global contingency requirements."
A major role of the Air Force is to evacuate wounded personnel from all branches of the service. In recent years, combat survival rates have increased dramatically as the Air Force has developed new procedures that enable them to transport sicker patients sooner.
Lt. Gen. Roudebush said of Gen. McMahan: "His keen insight and masterful leadership were critical to the Air Force Reserve's ability to include reservists into the Air Force's ‘enroute care' mission, which has contributed to our great success in returning wounded warriors to definitive care."
Praise for Gen. McMahan also came from his civilian colleagues. Dr. D. Kay Kirkpatrick, co-president of Resurgens Orthopaedics, called him, "not only a leader, but a highly skilled and compassionate doctor. In spite of his importance in the Air Force reserve and his long history as a well-respected orthopaedic surgeon, he is extremely unassuming and humble, and he has never even mentioned his position in all the years we have worked together."
Over his career Gen. McMahan logged more than 438 flight hours and held the rating of chief flight surgeon. He was called to active duty during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990, where he served with the 13th U.S. Air Force Contingency Hospital at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois.
Dr. McMahan was promoted to Brigadier General in 1999 and to Major General in 2005.
The native of Andrews, NC, earned his medical degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he entered the Air Force through the Health Professions Scholarship Program. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Marietta.
