Public Health Services Officer recognized with Army Achievement Medal

Engineer and Support Center, Huntsville
Published Oct. 18, 2012
Col. Robert Ruch, Huntsville Center commander, left, presents Lt. Cmdr. Brandon Groh with the Army Achievement Medal. Groh is a civil engineer and an officer in the U.S. Public Health Services Commissioned Corps where he serves the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as an expert in the field of health care facility construction and renovation.

Col. Robert Ruch, Huntsville Center commander, left, presents Lt. Cmdr. Brandon Groh with the Army Achievement Medal. Groh is a civil engineer and an officer in the U.S. Public Health Services Commissioned Corps where he serves the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as an expert in the field of health care facility construction and renovation.

Lt. Cmdr. Brandon Groh, a project manager with the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville Medical Repair and Renewal Program, was presented an Army Achievement Medal in September by Col. Robert Ruch, Huntsville Center commander.

As a Public Health Service Officer assigned to MRR, Groh is detailed to the Center as a subject matter expert in the field of construction and renovation in health care facilities.

According to the citation, Groh's efforts helped MRR projects realize cost avoidances in excess of $400,000. This past year Groh managed 20 task orders valued at more than $53 million. The primary project locations he's served are Fort Detrick, Md., Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Bragg, N.C. The Medical Repair and Renewal Program at Huntsville Center offers a fast track, efficient method for design and execution of all types of medical facility repairs, renovations, conversions, alterations, additions and construction projects. MRR provides program/project management, engineering, contracting and construction support to multiple Department of Defense and non-DOD agencies and locations nationwide.

Groh, a Lafayette, La., native, graduated with a bachelor's of science degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado-Boulder before receiving his commission.

The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is the federal uniformed service of the U. S. Public Health Service and is one of the seven uniformed services of the U.S. Officers of the PHSCC receive their commissions through the PHSCC's direct commissioning program.
Wearing the same uniforms as the Navy with special corps insignia, PHSC corps officers hold ranks equivalent to those of naval officers. Although classified as noncombatants, PHSC Corps officers may be directed to serve as part of the armed forces by the president or detailed to a service branch of the armed forces.

Groh said he is proud to be the first USPHS officer detailed to the Corps of Engineers and humbled to be recognized for his work here at the Center.
"I sincerely hope the word of my good work spreads and USACE can find more ways to incorporate PHS officers into the vital programs that protect, promote and advance the health and safety of our nation, Groh said.