General Robb has new assignment Published June 10, 2008 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISS. -- Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Doug Robb, 81st Medical Group commander, has been selected to become the command surgeon for Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. His successor is Col. (Dr.) Daniel Wyman, currently command surgeon for Pacific Air Forces, Hickam AFB, Hawaii. Colonel Wyman has been selected for promotion to brigadier general. General Robb assumed command of the 81st MDG in July 2007 following a three-year tour of duty as command surgeon of the U.S. Central Command at MacDill AFB, Fla. He was responsible for all joint and coalition health service support activities in the USCENTCOM Theater of War consisting of 27 nations on the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa, Northern Red Sea and Central Asia. General Robb is also the senior market manager for TRICARE's Gulf Coast Multi-Service Market, which includes five military medical facilities stretching from Mobile, Ala., to New Orleans. The general is responsible for the direct delivery of health care by the largest medical group in the Air Force to more than 27,000 enrolled patients among almost 48,000 eligible people in Keesler Medical Center's catchment area and coordinates care for more than 79,000 beneficiaries along the Gulf Coast. He ensures the availability of major war and peacetime medical readiness response forces. He directs nine graduate medical and dental education programs and an extensive clinical research program. He leads more than 1,300 health-care professionals and manages a local budget of more than $75.5 million. In addition, General Robb is the federal coordinator for the Gulf Coast National Disaster Medical System. The general has led wide-ranging improvements to patient care since assuming command. The medical center continued its monumental recovery from the affects of Hurricane Katrina, increasing numbers and varieties of services. The medical center provides care to more than 27,000 currently-enrolled patients. "We've spent a total of $183 million on past, present and future construction projects," the general said. "This includes more than $61 million to reconstitute our basement, which was completed in April. Additionally we've spent about $9 million to 'move up' our high-value, state-of-the-art medical systems and irreplaceable medical records to upper levels to keep them safe from any future storm-surge damage. This effort was completed in March. "To further protect our infrastructure, we began construction of an $8.6 million central energy plant in September that's scheduled to be finished this October," General Robb continued. "In addition, we're building a new radiation therapy center; with groundbreaking scheduled in mid-April. It should be 'open for business' in September 2009. Finally, we plan a $76.8 million inpatient medical tower to meet Base Realignment and Closure Commission guidelines. We have scheduled construction to start in March 2009, with completion in the summer of 2011." Commenting on his tenure as the medical group's leader, General Robb said, "I am proud of how our medics have striven to maintain the highest standards of currency and competency and provide the best quality of care for our patients. "We've also made tremendous strides to enhance our close relationship with our partners at the Biloxi Veterans Affairs Medical Center. VA Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System Director Charles Sepich and I have worked diligently to create a partnership where we continue to develop areas in which both facilities can share our expertise to the benefit of our beneficiaries, both the active duty and military veterans who utilize us. "In addition, 81st Medical Group members continue to deploy in support of our forces fighting the global war on terror, saving lives on a scale never before experienced in the annals of warfare. Keesler Medical Center is the second largest medical deployment platform in the Air Force. I can't say enough about the tremendous effort our deployed members display daily to ensure our wounded heroes receive superior care and are able to return home to their families." "We've been humbled by the dedication, resiliency, compassion and just plain good old citizenship of our neighbors and the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast," General Robb added. "Gloria and I will cherish our time at Keesler Medical Center and the Coast."